The Earthworms

The earthworms yawn long, magenta & mauve
over Seattle's glossy sidewalk mouths
wet concrete tongues
stubbled with pebbles of milky and ambitious size.

Singing above the street lamps
power cables crackle open the throat of midnight,
in movements sharper than a hum,
lines vibrating edge over edge.
The mercury drops through April
sharp and heavy with intent.
Cold air forces spring into a fever pitch
of shivering restrained colors.

But the earthworms,
you must pay (you pen's) attention to the earthworms,
slow like a meditation master
they make breathing a full-bodied endeavor.
Dreamlike
the sidewalks are splitting
under the force of one more season
that's where the earthworms come up
and make the most of the her jagged and unconscious rupture.