Splash | Alan Inman
Splash goes
the human sound
of washing clean,
this week’s dread
shaving it off like dress,
Splash the sound
of heavy weights
hitting the bathtub
floor, the filth we allowed
finally scrubbed out.
Splash goes
the human sound
of washing clean,
this week’s dread
shaving it off like dress,
Splash the sound
of heavy weights
hitting the bathtub
floor, the filth we allowed
finally scrubbed out.
From one side
To the other
With sounds of waves
Between us
A range of craggy shore
Signals a newness.
Gather all the wood
we must set the fireplace
in order to garner memories
woollen clothes and fever
measles and chicken pox
bunking school college and the rest. The doctor arrives.
Garner all those events
reconstruct those mired memories
hunt out the black and white photos, some stray loitering in
cupboards, some in washed out albums. Gather the wood set the fireplace, let’s go out for a picnic,
before the rains wash way all these.
This is the end
of feigning kindness.
Which is fine, which
is fine.
The project has come
crashing down but
don’t worry.
I will redefine it,
I am a stone survivor.
I am professional acumen.
This is the end
of the kid, the start
of something new.
I hope I like it.
Earth gives only so much
and does not always cooperate.
We gather and steam
and work and regale each
other with stories. Meanwhile,
a single emerald winks
from the dull ground, then becomes
another and another
until life pushes forward, sliding
aside our doubtful sands
and mournful pebbles.
A new life, a new garden
begins with that single stem
suddenly, exultantly budding.
Dedicated to my best Romanian friend, Vasile.
I bloom, I glow…
I smile. I am happy…
I am charmed by your
beautiful soul.
I lie in my room
and welcome the rain
this renewing rain
foretelling of spring
the grass and trees
invent the new season
such a burst of buds
and promising shoots
ancient recipes of change
effortlessly unfold
everyday splendor
I humbly give thanks
Scrub me, cleanse
me, wash my facade
until all blemishes
of personality and pride
erode away in a stream.