The names: some reek downward
their sudden power, others
depress mysterious chords
of mislaid remembrance,
like the circular charms
invoked on the subway line,
plunging down the dark
and glassy intestines of the
living city.
Still others inform with an
antique jargon to scatter,
tripping, or hammer like
a shot bolt to sound in
the porcelain of a delighted
ear.
Intelligent, the sound of a
rodent tunneling
prickles sleeper’s
scalp, sweat trickles
into earth.