surrender

thumbprints of marzipan
cling to refrigerator magnets,
tea cups and 2H pencils.
i lick my fingers of excessive sweet
and add "surrender"
to the shopping list under:
dish soap
razors
honey.
surrender.

Crouched deeply in the frozen food case
under chicken thighs, soy patties,
and swordfish steaks,
surrender waits to announce it's pull date
in chiseled patterns of numb.

I saw it in the wild once, flashing
through the headlight's reflection
in a speckled fawn's eyes. Her hooves
extinguishing sparks as she fled.

Jogging in place at the red light,
surrender was recently seen
with one eye on passing traffic,
the other on a finish line underfoot.

Surrender is most relentless
in the nocturnal creep of the bilge
and the steady drip of intravenous fluids.
And in the egg-timer's tick
when placed next to an orphaned kitten,
simulating a heart's performance
without even thinking.

Surrender, in it's most beautiful state,
is a bridge. Poised effortlessly, it is
the notes between coda and reprise.
A lyrical letting go of holy, place-less names  
in long, thoughtless phrases.