I tried to match
an age mark
on an old woman's leg
with pen lines
long ago
it reminded me
of a place I knew by browned maps only
its wrinkles
a false topography
wallpaper of a stranger's home
peeled by weeping I see
I tried to match
the map of a state
to an old woman's age mark
and the one thing to come
for forgetfulness and blindness
was morning violet
and
dark pearls suspended
on windless, emerald water