Possible, That Much We Know

There’s something moving in these phrases,
Something neither word nor beast. Thought? Mind?
We know we’re in here, not what we are.

Not butterflies in a vacuum jar—
We’re not sealed and we don’t need fresh air.
Caught in some way, as in a vitrine,

Seeds in pods, genes in seeds, worms in dust,
Metaphors needing more metaphors
To try to get a grip on ourselves.

Transfero, metaphorein, carry,
To bring across, translatio. Us,
But are we the whole scenario,

The boat, the dead souls, the gold obols,
The figure poling, the ferry pole?
We are what makes the scenario—