Experiments in Purity
in doorways on buses
in kitchens and theatres
in offices in apartment buildings
under street-awnings advertisement hoardings
behind windows in shadow on the grass in full sunlight
eating carefully in restaurants staring into space
jogging past riding past on mountain bikes
the visible strain driving past
stopped at the lights acting invisible
smiling caught from smiling
broken down caught from crying
over wine slumped in comfortable chairs
behind TV sets behind unfocused eyes
behind deliberate efforts at easy conversation
behind make-up behind lips moving soundlessly
with wordless gestures with embarrassing
out-of-place comments and loud laughter
with unconventional views easy-care clothes
with sudden confidings of loss loneliness intimacy
with high-maintenance lifestyles with important projects
coming up some time with the future crowding in on them
and the past pushing them forward into crowded rooms
crowded trains and buses with the lunchtime rush
at peak-hour in fear of contact
with the future behind them and the past pulling them
out of aeroplanes over cliffs out of relationships
with medications with diets
with planned births sex and death
out of doorways out of open mouths
eating carefully all that can be said
behind the words behind the faces in shade
behind the faces in full sunlight and
in your white room with your white teeth
and your white eyes
people are screaming
