Samarkand

Jules the maddening ruler began by stating that now is the time

when the fishermen no longer fish
when the osprey circles without diving
when the cold mountain no longer pikes
up in the sky because diamond air no longer wraps it around
when the businessman is still at his desk
when kings serve other kings
when I serve the king of england
when the cat no longer mouses
when the sleepers no longer rest
when houses on the street are bathed in electric fire
when good people are no longer good
when good people are no longer people
when kilns fire nothing
when a graveyard dog digs up his dead master
when potshard emolates briefly
when we are kith and kin
when gods become intimate and private
when ivory figurines no longer suffice
when our savior hangs himself on an elm
when our fathers recount their trips to the supermarket
when gold is gold no more
when all that we have done will be undone
when oppossums bear live young upon the hay pallet
when the farmer polishes his scyth and sickle
when the hammer hammers a nailhead
when stopping for coffee no longer means anything
when the radio talks
when the scholars give up
when goldfish grow up to be koi
when the old apartment lined and
labyrinthined with scrolls
books and apothecary cabinets is
torn down and rebuilt up, shinier only
when words point only to other words
when there is no thing in this world
when buttons are no longer tendered
when we stop being mercantile with our souls
when contractors market their work without warning
when seaside villages rule the seas
when grasshoppers no longer rule the grass
when the mortgage broker listens quietly
when aunts are avuncular
when old day laborers apply for visas
when languages are not themselves
when the knife shapener is coming
when people here are like people there
when the fern will grow in direct sunlight
when the rabbit shank is defurred and hung for sale
when the small numbers we carry around with us are inverse
when flak is flak
when the crested night warbler is filagreed and fine
when pans are deglazed with filtered water
when the airwaves are silent and the cold dark
burst of the night is transmitted down the
powerlines into every home and the ruled will take note