Friday, December 27, 2013

the biggest raindrops


the moribund  go en masse
stampeding unleashed, wild running free.
an invasion force of filler fellows,
lean, manic decoration. 

but then the real gordos are engaged
beyond the last of the legionnaires,
after the noisy wind has scampered.
during the wee hours usually

when all is quiet.  that's their time.
they are fewer.  the summation.
it seems as regular course that the very
fattest raindrops jump when i'm sleeping.

they slip, or are pushed, off the cloud,
do something like sizzle on the way down;
a faint wet hiss or whistle, a quiet, steady
sound; the only one they make.

soar in solo,  a fly ball into center.
splat what they hit.  there are no misses.
outside my window they zap a plastic tarp
covering the neighbor's motorcycle.

after listening an hour i am conscious enough
to realize what's going on, and predawn
i write lines preserving their integrity 
in recognition of their sonic contribution

3 comments:

Andrew Drucker said...

Very nice, last three stanzas made me think about when the hit the AC in my window. Really evocative piece and relate-able (also anything with "en-masse"\Whitman-esque intro, and the musical solos\baseball reference... Easily the best poem I read in a long while)

Andrew Drucker said...

also really like the third stanza... just seriously really great work

Annie said...

What Andrew said... I love this poem, Jack.