Because out of nowhere, the perfume of jasmine
accompanies us into the night,
there’s a chance we might find ourselves
a place to begin.

Let’s make it as non-descript as possible
with no emergency exits
as this will only send us deeper into debt.

May our address be recognizable
to the remaining condors
as a possible perch.
Because I want the mist for my bed
in order to wake up, collected
on the precipice of your petals.

Because what is seen from this vista-point
is what the salmon bring back to the mountains.


Robert S. Pesich works as a staff scientist in the Department of Biochemistry at Stanford University. His poetry has recently appeared in 2River View, The Bitter Oleander, Convergence and caesura among others. In 2005, he was awarded a poetry fellowship from Arts Council Silicon Valley and was a finalist for The Frances Locke Memorial Poetry Award. His chapbook, Burned Kilim was published by Dragonfly Press in 2001. He is currently finishing a book of poems tentatively titled Evaluation of Cost Factors in Design Practice. He lives in Sunnyvale with his wife and son.

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