I. Dixit

He poached pears upright
in a copper pot. Drenched
in lemon juice and ginger,
their sugary clockworks uncoiled,
springs collapsed
at a terrible speed.

II. Confitebor

His wife asked if he dreamed
of Brasilia, the woman in bare feet,
toes perfect as pecans?
All that heat and his skin
like unleavened dough.

III. Beatus vir

He smoked brown cigarettes,
sold appliances at Sears,
fingers stained with shoe polish,
motor oil.

IV. Laudate pueri

With lips and tongue,
he named the sugary filigree,
the sensitive source.

V. Laudate Dominum

He loved sharp
knives, oiled and welcome
in wooden sheathes.

VI. Magnificat

She fed him spindled fish,
wrapped his cut finger in linen
when he sliced a mango
in the shape of a star.
Blood seeped through white
like a mouse's heart pulsing
in a bowl.