There Was a Man

There was a man who built me into
a castle and I could not
stop to eat dandelions
or smell orange blossoms.

I worked all day on synthetic wholes.
Logic spit at me,
but I jumped away and caught it
in the front of my shirt.

I went to the bathroom to clean it
and saw a man building
a tinker toy tower on which he put
a can of stewed tomatoes.

He said, "You must submit
to everyman's pleading."
He was religious and wore
rosary beads

and a large wooden cross
on which Christ hung
with yellowing scotch tape.
He wore a black coat

and black eyes and gray hair.
He said, "You must submit."
I said, "I am working on a
mathematical system."