Oh kindly ones, with eyes soft
           as panda fur, and hair
that supplies its own rough breeze,
           would you like a nibble
of this tart, baked with scraps
           of stray dog hearts!
There’s a fracture in my chimney,
           a crack rippling through
my wedding ring. Twice
           a week, my wife brings
back the soil from another man’s
           flowerbed. I wonder
if you might speak with him
           in your language of fire,
one he seems to both play with
           and comprehend