Fourth Floor Thunder

Fourth Floor Thunder
07.24.08

in their dimly lit
section of
building (four walls,
a bed slept in by strangers,
a TV—staring blankly, reflecting
the pastel painting on striped walls
with peaches and apples dangling near
the ceiling),
lightning illuminates
stucco, the green, slanted slats
of the roof,
the highway winding in layers
rising up and sinking
as an undulating
serpent.

thunder rattles the thin window-
pane blending running water sounds
with rain and the fact that she
is leaking—
impervious, but she has
been penetrated
just the same,
as if the armor has been
rinsed from her skin
or peeled to reveal
the truth—which is
suffering, which is her story
lost to wind, and
the echoes of traffic,
and the sudden downpour
showing the curve of her secrets by sonar:
all things
all whispers
melding
with the steady beat of the shower...
(staccato, thumping, the rattle of
breath, mouth, hands clenching:
love has a rhythm).

mounted:
stripped,
transfixed,
held in suspension
—this limited edition
print revealing still life
portraits and
half-nudes against
stark white linens—
but the speed
of her disconnecting
connections is staggering
(failsafe)—
a secondary system
maintaining equilibrium
in the complex mechanism
that is her love for him.

the sky turns
purple from black
behind the curtains
and the currents surge
down invisible wires
to her heart,
shocking
her system:
conditioned
air pushes in
through narrow
vents
touching
roots,
the marrow,
down further:
this molten substance—
which stops
stutters
trips
traps
words so that,
even when he emerges, she
is silent
(rhythm
less)
and the thunder
stretches from rumble
to roll, dipping
down into long pauses
drawn out
as uneven syllables
she cannot utter.

with this wealth of
water, welling up,
(blooming desert)
she is wet
and weak
and wandering,
even then,
outside of walls,
petitioning guards in
the span between
inhale and exhale when
she wonders
where he has gone—
in all the darkness
(flashes of lightning)
she sees only
the things that lie
beneath reason.

Reviews

[Jaffa Forbes]

Wow - this is really, really awesome. Since you've read some of my stuff (thanks!) you know that i love this style of passionate, flowing, imagery laden poetry. You're very good at describing the whole scene; very nice. Love the title. I wouldn't change much with this. A suggestion might be to at least start the first stanza with a capital letter. Is there a certain reason why you didn't? If there is, fine, keep it!
Jaff