This cliff spreading out
and among the black stones
on all sides another rooftop
half marble, half while the city below
street by street catches fire
the way your still unopened lips
use what air is left though that’s
not how you remember it
when some mourner falls behind
and makes it out alive
already in a straight line
as if your arms are closing in
on what they say not to
and the rock you hold up
as the single-minded cry
coming from deep inside the sun
covers your mouth face down
to cool itself off, then louder.
Author Bio:
Simon Perchik is an attorney whose poems have appeared in Partisan Review, The Nation, Poetry, Osiris, The New Yorker, and elsewhere. His most recent collection is Almost Rain, published by River Otter Press (2013). For more information, including free e-books, his essay titled “Magic, Illusion and Other Realities” please visit his website at www.simonperchik.com.
and among the black stones
on all sides another rooftop
half marble, half while the city below
street by street catches fire
the way your still unopened lips
use what air is left though that’s
not how you remember it
when some mourner falls behind
and makes it out alive
already in a straight line
as if your arms are closing in
on what they say not to
and the rock you hold up
as the single-minded cry
coming from deep inside the sun
covers your mouth face down
to cool itself off, then louder.
Author Bio:
Simon Perchik is an attorney whose poems have appeared in Partisan Review, The Nation, Poetry, Osiris, The New Yorker, and elsewhere. His most recent collection is Almost Rain, published by River Otter Press (2013). For more information, including free e-books, his essay titled “Magic, Illusion and Other Realities” please visit his website at www.simonperchik.com.
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