I learned in English Lit
Water represents rebirth.
But what about skies,
That wisp overhead,
Bleached cotton curtains that
Suffocate the scenery?

I heard in geology the sky comprises
Illusion, gases, and a nitrogen blue
That arcs like Aryan eyes
While cataract clouds
Scuttle.
Plath called it a bell jar
Smudged with
Cloudlike condensation
Or the pants of seven billion
Symbiotes.

Now I am the teacher,
and I know
Humans build near water,
Bracketing the coasts,
Bright and viscous,
Like Florida algae.

Two humans, pale statues,
Frame our view.
Their interpersonal drama propels
The narrative, Aryan arc
While a blue plaid sky
Snaps overhead.
The wind whistles their song,
The sun crisps their soft, beige skin,
The ocean crashes into the margins,
Drowning their violence
And narrative flow.

 

Written in response to Ben Howard’s “I Forget Where We Were” video.