This could be my secret hour when the loose ends get gathered up and arranged in heirloom rows with all the perfume promise of ripe summer plums. When the fat lady steps forward to sing, the brilliance of her aerial voice rising in a luminous loop beyond the spotlight; beyond the canopies; above the four corners. When the surplus and the shambles, the rough residue of regret, the trail of gloom and tragedy, the lament of unrelished days, evaporate in a cogent crisp of cloudless blue. And all the things that matter most, like mouth to mouth inscriptions, skin to skin sequels, the feel of green and music, the blush and whisper of grandiose ideas, return in a supreme sweep that rises to the surface like yeast and honey: a sweet surplus of plenty to pocket for the road.
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The Anthology
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Readers’ Comments
- On "Luffing": Finding that perfect balance in life so your sails don't flap so hard you are accused of 'careless luffing' would be grand but don't think... – Jacqueline Casey
May 24 - On "Kritios Boy": A beautifully written essay that resonates with some of my own experience with a lost love. thank you. – Susan Charney
May 21 - On "The Last Sister": Thank you for taking the time to read poetry and to write this lovely note! – Tracy DeBrincat
May 21 - On "Matt Burke": Your creations are wonderful, Matt! As an artist myself, I have always been attracted to wood because of its magnificent definition in the natural state.... – Gippy Henry
May 21 - On "The Past Life Hypnotist Predicts The Future": In my humble opinion, this is a wonderful piece of work. Although fiction it's about a subject that many question in this time period. More... – Gippy Henry
May 21 - On "The Last Sister": Love your poetry! So much sensory details, metaphors taking the past toward the future is exhilarating. The constant reference to not living in the past... – Gippy Henry
May 21 - On "The Other Chair": This is a wonderful essay. I applaud the way you worked yourself as a prior patient into the field. Studied psychology and the brain at... – Gippy Henry
May 21 - On "Birding by Ear": Awesome, lovely poem! I definitely want to read more work by Susan Cohen! – S.D. Lishan
May 21
- On "Luffing": Finding that perfect balance in life so your sails don't flap so hard you are accused of 'careless luffing' would be grand but don't think... – Jacqueline Casey
4 Comments
Enjoyed — enjoy-ing, especially:
in a luminous loop
beyond the spotlight;
beyond the canopies;
&
evaporate in a cogent
crisp of cloudless blue.
&
and the last two “sweet” lines
Well the first time I read this I was stunned. My world lost its gravity and came to a timeless halt. The first stanza left me with such a vivid image of “ripe summer plums” that I came to wonder, ‘are plums harvested in the summer?’ A sad but true fact is that I’ve never seen a plum tree so I couldn’t tell you what season they grow in. It seems like I can always get a plum at any time. A summer plum is the same as a plum to me. But I bet a summer plum tastes so much sweeter!
The second time solidified my immediate admiration for your poem. I look forward to reading your other poems. Great job.
When I think of daylight savings I think of Spring and all the changes to come. Children playing outside; birds flying back north and their songs…
oh that “rough residue of regret” really resonated! And the rest was also very musical. I enjoyed the poem