At Christmastime in sixth grade I gave out
three dozen Berol Black Warrior pencils,
gifts for my classmates. (All the boys

Where Have We Come From?
What Are We?
Where Are We Going?
                a painting by Paul Gauguin, 1897

Splotchy underbrush of suggested trees, eely
vines, fresh water holes springs around us.

On cleared earth, kittens play in bowls or are