The Air We Breathe

​The air we breathe blends its nitrogen
And oxygen, its argon and trace
Gases, and in your mind, thought
And images swirl and interrelate,

They dive into each other,
They soar out of each other,
And it is all hidden from our 
Eyes. There is always mother,

Even when father has organized
The laundry folding, the best
Way to dry the dishes, mother
Gives us our medicine, a compound blessed

And we feel nothing. The man who
Evaluates houses points out
The items needing repair,
Where the joining parts need grout,

And you are leaping in the air
And the house is far below you.
We leave no place empty,
The wind, through and through,

Blends its own towns and its
Streets, its forests, Fort Smith
In the Northwestern Territories,
Mathematical systems and myth.