I
Don't let me alone. Don't
let me alone in the shadow of the rain.
Don't give me a token;
an umbrella to envelope this damp body. I need
the human form to shield away
the fog.
II
It's time, again, for the bomb to fall. It's time again
for this plane, this little fly in the great ethereal blue
to drop it's charge.
Clocks stop.
Castles, skyscrapers, compounds
crystallize and sink, like dust,
into the ground.
Across the river stands a sentinel,
silent, still, watching
as the airborne assassin eats the city whole.
III
In Japan, after the acid rain has fallen
after the flowers have withered into brown decay
There remains a small box
mummified in the ruins. It contains
a book, perhaps a diary
a dress, folded four times
perhaps belonging to a geisha
and a figurine of a child in a baby swing,
with chipped jade eyes.
Perhaps this enigma belonged
to a girl wrapped in the residue of catharsis.
Emma,
ReplyDeleteWow. This poem is gorgeous and haunting all at once. There are so many images here I wish I wrote.I think the first section frames the other two beautiful. My two favorite snippets:
...well, really the whole first section and then:
"this little fly in the great ethereal blue to drop its charge" and "after the flowers have withered into brown decay"
I adore this poem. I particularly like the flow, and the shift from something personal, like the fear of being alone, all the way to something broad ("castles, skyscrapers, compounds"), then back to something removed, yet still personal ("a figurine... with chipped jade eyes"). I really appreciate the little gems of lines, like "as the airborne assassin eats the city whole", they just make the entire thing shine. Awesome!
ReplyDeleteIn my previous comment that seems to have floated into the ether, I noted the first section which makes this potentially big event intimate. The imagery here blows me away. So, so good Emma. Send this out!
ReplyDeleteI think this is beautiful. It is the kind of poem that I want to have a conversation with you about, just to see the feelings and emotions that lie beneath the surface. It comes together elegantly even through the grotesque images described.
ReplyDelete