GETTING UP AND FALLING DOWN  (6-12-96, 3:00am, Galveston Island, Texas)

measurements
of a life
in getting up
and
falling down
maps a trail
in increments
of a life
still stumbling
around

seismic graphs
which
illustrate
all its groveling
struggles
its victories
and
its fumbles
both unseen
and
known
above
and
underground
and
even in those
much rarer
peak moments
where its line
jumps
off the scale
beyond
all earthly bounds

measurements
of a life
in getting up
and
falling down
maps a trail
in increments
of a life
still stumbling
around