Math Problem
(‘Twixt that darkness and that light’)
From an Anglican hymn by
James Russell Lowell 1845
Forty nine clouds
In seven rows of seven
Marching, misaligned
In their perfection
Drifting over cars
Reflecting from the roofs
Captain Kidd speaks:
“I told the telephone pole
‘That the last thing I need
Is an invisible friend
Pulling me in to a hole
Just when I’m on the mend.”
The clouds billow like buildings
In the blue
Above skyscrapers pregnant with darkness.
The times tables continue
Seven times eight
And the earth waits
For the magic of fifty six.
Captain Kidd goes on :
“Oh yea,
Try living with doubt
High mountains of it,
grinding the sharp edges
Off your teeth
While you lie on steel grates
In the rain
The blue collar ship sinks
And your soul is stolen by a thief again
And again.”
Is it eight or sixteen
Eight plus eight plus eight
Cirrus clouds
Pressing hard with their vapors
Way down below like fishing lines
From smeared satellites.
Captain Kidd says:
“I want to know
Where the soul will go
When the mind dies
In the dark
And the strands of life release
That tiny bit of fluff
That drifts in strange air
Until it’s travelled enough.”
Tongues shiver at the hounded vagabond
Standing at the traffic light
The driver’s whitened teeth clicking stir sticks
Hoping for a quick change
The homeless man stares back
Pushing with his eyes
Even as his hand comes out.
Joshua Kight 8/30/13
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I just started reading your poetry, but this one painted a great picture in my mind, with emotions of childlike wonder and ending in that uncomfortable setting of life.
Thank you for sending me your website of your paintings and poems. I’ll send the website to Siena, “only one “N” for Siena, like the town in Italy, not the color. We both love to put in an extra n in names.
I sent in my website of a nonprofit that I work for in Tahoe, Trails & Vistas, started as an art hike with my thesis project from San Jose State University.
Where do you recommend to view visual art in all mediums in Austin? My background is in bronze sculpture, but I love paintings, installation art and sculpture.
Do you have any art shows or poetry readings in Austin coming up soon?
Try the Blanton Museum first , that is the the best one. The Jones center is edgier. Mexicarte is good. Laguna Gloria is in a wonderful location . Just the ‘grounds’ are worth the trip.