Become Shamen IV

for Dave Bailey

All night long
all day
watch the sun rise twice a day
or not all.

Hold the flannel to your forehead
through your fever
replenish it with water
from the dish by your bedside.

I hear the wind too,
there

it travels between the boards

and there

the door lifts and falls
in its embrace

But the wind will still
the night will pass
I carry this candle
and it will not be extinguished.

James Piers Taylor, 19th October 2006, London

IMAGE: Ganjin Statue at the Toshodaiji Temple, Nara, Japan (2002) from the series Pictures from the Surface of the Earth by Wim Wenders