I can hear them behind me
and when I turn around
there they are
scrambling at my heels,
all those years
making a racket
trying to catch up,
and, as usual,
I am attempting to outrun them--
even so,
I am eager to add another one
to the pack.

Once again, panic opens my gut
like a book; this time, I think,
I’ll crack the spine, turn past
the tissue-thin opening pages,
maybe even begin to write
a complete concordance.