the cat attacks the sulky billfold
and above, the clouds are eloquent
the cricket sneaks along the baseboard
in a delicate confusion, looking for a thing
mislaid, like a freedom
or a calculation, like the sweetness
of remembered movements
to a window lady in a dirty gown
at seven, greedy bees
hang backward from the hyssop
then the houses throw a shadow back and forth
darkness comes down from the trees
when everything has done, a naked moon comes out
to stand and say the epilogue
smiling in its beard