Michael Cluff- A Poem

Ricochets of Mercury

Always gauging
the temperature of my soul----
it varies too much
for a thermometer
to work
without shattering
into an environment
not always of my accord.

A creaking floorboard
or Indian head penny
will spark it off
with equanimity

as do cow creamers,
clip-on ties
and conundrums
cleverly constructed.

But
the degree of descent,
ascent
is mine alone---
a range without wire
barbed or blanching

orbiting around
my impulses
ricochets or mercury
I know
best of all.