dust is dead skin sitting on shelves and window ledges
dust is crystallized beams of ultraviolet light under beds
dust is dust from fairy wings
and dead moths
dust is sea salt carried from the Atlantic,
settling over unread novels
dust is soft and glitters in the sunlight, moonlight, starlight
dust is star dust from explosions we don't see
and explosions we wish on
dust is sugar from peppermint gumdrops
dust is threads of golden hair from pixies who watch us sleep
dust is kitten fur and petal pollen
tucked neatly into forgotten room corners
dust is cigarette ash
dust is coffee grounds and cinnamon
dust is fluffs of goose feathers from pillows
dust is wood shavings, flecks of dried paint,
pink, purple, midnight blue and white
dust is the eyelashes of lovers who left in the morning
dust is silk from black veils
and dust is dried blood from a little boy's scabbed knee
dust is on the lamps, inside the urns, in our minds
and our veins and our hair
and dust can be written in with fingertips
dust is sand from the beach carried back in fingernails
dust is falling like glitter-rain
dust never stops falling
and we catch it on our tongues like snowflakes
and it lands among our world and encases it all in memories
encases it all in dust