Nodding Brass Chimes and the Rain's Tones


by Michael Ladanyi




      That afternoon, the rain's pulse was
      steady, numb and grey, like the
      gathered and weighed regret of
      war. From the screened porch,
      consorted scents of magnolia's
      breath, damp grass and the white

      stone birdbath's rippling, shallow
      pool, spoke as blood would, had it
      a voice, it's edge worn and drawn,
      yet thick and pliable. I breathed the
      oak's rough, mossy bark, you were
      in my tears like a sweet hollowness

      produced by fingers evenly pressed,
      then pulled across thicker strings of
      an acoustic guitar. I thought of
      the cruelness that would be contained
      in those slow minutes if the rain
      were to stop, liquid memories of

      you in my eyes were to dry. The
      wind swam in maroon layers, into
      bodies of dimness that sat in
      green-beige, cushioned and wicker
      outdoor furniture, like quiet, consoling
      friends, while the long brass chimes

      you gave us last year, nodded like a
      priest at your door the day of a
      death. The rain grew until it became
      harsh whispers, the sound of many
      marbles dropped onto a wooden
      hall floor. And you were still in

      my eyes, refusing to leave, perhaps,
      I would not send you away. Suddenly,
      realizing how noble you stood in the
      melancholy tones that surrounded
      me, I opened the door that let into
      the kitchen and stepped inside,

      leaving the rain before it stopped.



First published in, Poetic Reflections, received the Editors
Choice and Poem of the Month Awards, copyright (C) April 2002.
Copyright (C) 2002, Michael Ladanyi.


Click here to visit Michael Ladanyi's Poetry Pages


Graphics by KyEve


TABLE OF PAGES       HOME
AMAZING AWARDS     DISCLAIMER & COPYRIGHT       FAMILY ALBUM
GIFTS       GREAT LINKS       EMAIL     GUESTBOOK

EVE'S GRAPHICS GALLERY       LUCID MOMENTS DIGITAL ART EXHIBIT