Before the rain

[penneddown]

She pegs linen late into the lazy days,
the air hanging low, heavy.
The petunias shiver
and Phoebe spreads her fingers in paint,
palms to the glass, 
trialing permanence .

Inside her something moves,
thunder claps and the sky
is late night television.
They wait for the rain.

Later the patio radiates
heat that smells of earth
and memories
of yesterday.
Before the rain, before the air 
was so close
that they needed to start over. 

Before the rain

She pegs linen late into the lazy days
when the air is devil’s strawberries -
ripe, low, heavy. 
The petunias shiver and
Phoebe spreads her fingers in paint,
three-year-old palms to the glass, 
trialing permanence.

Inside her something moves,
thunder claps and the sky
is late night television.
Collecting warm-damp laundry,
She spreads it over the backs 
of her old wooden chairs. 

Cumulonimbus exhales
and for just a moment
the red paisley shirt and blue chinos 
come alive
casting an apparition on the back wall.
Phoebe starts the film roll, 
counting to three -
Il pleuvra, il pleut, il pleuvait ...

Later the patio radiates
heat that smells of earth
and memories of yesterday.
Before the rain, before the air 
was so close 
that they needed to start over.