No agent would help
the poet. Bottles
get flattened down to two
dimensions—a window display
for early morning
risers uncertain
about their place. Whoever
turns himself
in becomes the true
peddler of reprieve.
Morning Poems
Real Subway
Everything changes
when tracks get laid
down to boulevard
the street. No heavy
rail in these towns. How many
American cities go underground
to move? Above, on, or
below—I will ride
out the need
to be destined.
Nature’s Bethel
That she could define the sacred place inside her architecture of breathing,
that she could steal her father’s Old Head cave—naturally programmed
with thick Irish grass to cushion vistas of the Irish Sea—
that she could claim even one piece of rock as her own
to build a chapel for her own non-conformity,
would be her attention to structure,
would be her proposal to the world,
would be her physical presence
inside a hallowed ground where there are
no lines, no dimensions, only
the exquisite knowing of a spot
where she, like seamen before her,
would go. She would go
to rest her body, to forget it, to uncover
in the rubble of Earth’s design,
souls lost, souls renewed,
a storm pushing so many
waves into the cave, etching
its remarkably evolved design
no human hand could replicate.
Nothing Operatic
With effort,
she would only whisper
the story of his life
to those trees
that would listen.
Into the Waiting
Blue, red, and green
lights flash behind
a translucent airport wall. I won’t touch
but will imagine
how it might feel
to be so powerful—creating waves
and particles
in all shapes
and sizes. I can almost see through
this flat space. Almost
hear your safe voice again.
Loopers
Hairless brown ones
drop from urban tree branches
to clutter the sidewalk
with warning signs. Nowhere
near the Jersey Shore,
memories fall harder
and evaporate to become
invisible sagas
no one wants
to repeat. I would give
anything to see that condensation
on bark again.
Mills—No Barns
No part of this story begins
in a barn. Stalks
of rhubarb become
site non-specific
art in the right
urban hands. A brand
name that uses the color
green may harm
more than tired eyes. Plato
was a man
before a town. The river
will flow with or without
its name spelled
out in blue
on a map
with mills—no barns.
No Back Pocket
She makes it hard—purse
strap worn across the chest
NYC style. Jacket to camouflage
it when hung on the back
of a café chair. To admit to the grief
of knowing one who has chosen
to check out. What choice? Practice
makes perfect as she drifts
back and forth
between stages once again. No two
alike—no prediction
when acceptance might spill
onto the round table with change.
Loading Dock Lost
And the quiet one
slips out and down the back
stairwell. I still take that twist
of steps myself but have forgotten
the smell of the rail
corridor. Anyone can die
at any moment. Anyone can nose
around to detect the real
me now that the smoke
has cleared. I can breathe deeply
and know there was a life—and
this is fragile.
Won’t Chase Cars
On this cross-quarter day,
she walks toward the last
time you fell on concrete
and didn’t cry out. She can’t
undo what’s been done. But
she can scream the loudest
for you.
Night & Day Poems of Amy Nash 