HEAD OF AN IDOL
circa 2000 BC
Or the round shape of a paddle
that plunks in and out
of the aqueous surface
aquiline on its own
beak-like
gliding past definition
over comprehension
through seconds that count
its infinity
curves that trace its shape
from the Cycladic Islands it knows
only in these words
the cold currents
positions of the moon
smells and tastes
cloaking us
in time’s oblivion
—Nancy Cavers Dougherty