Whit Leyenberger Poems

They say that an infant’s entire connection to the world lies through their mother.
My reality, my universe
We outgrow that soon enough though.
But perhaps the lasting effects of this bond
...

You have whatever it is
That makes the stars
Decide to radiate their tiny
Pins of lights into the
...

When you left you took my sheets with you.
You took the spice wheel, my Chinese takeout place, most of the better friends
and, with any luck, two or three biting remarks cast at an already closed door.
Leaving refugee picture frames cradling smiles of illegitimate children.
...

Her fingertips felt like topographical maps of the Andes
pulling slowly through hair suspended in water.
My roots were in Peru and my soul was in my skin.
I needed to know how she breathed among the clouds.
...

I watch the fireflies
Constantly refreshing constellations
Tracing the slow paths they follow
Combing the air for affection
...

Without you here I cannot have you.
Minds replace absence with memories,
inconstant images reeling on a sepia screen.
And as remembrances fade
...

I hope that at the end of my wanderings;
When my body is just a body and my heart
four valves, the tiny men in big glasses who will crack
my head open to see what's inside will be utterly
...

Close the blinds,
don’t let it be morning
light indisputable
tearing you to today
...

What is that feeling?
Only found in the shade
Of a good climbing tree
With that breeze blowing in
...

When I look at you I have to laugh
It just all seems so ridiculous
So unplausable that we’re here
It’s that glowing impossibility
...