Sky,
blue like electricity
shoves
out sulking clouds
and
suspends in the stage above
I
look up
just
soon enough to see wrathful cloud banks
crawling,
clawing,
their
way back into the sky
Then
“Pit”
“Pat”
rain
gently knocking on windows
Then
“Bom”
“Bang”
rain
knocking down doors.
and
so the students zip up dark jackets,
slip
on patterned boots,
preparing
for battle
only
to step out under blue.
Under
the blue (and grey)
the
flowers bloom
petals
unfolding,
pollen
dripping into the air.
Under
the blue
legs
and shoulders bare
tattoos
unearthed
bright
fabrics, floral patterns
tattoos
unearthed
legs
and shoulders bare.
and
so, as if to fit some code,
I
lay, belly pressed into sticky leather,
In
a room that smells of sharp antiseptic,
with
fake flames splashed onto the walls
I
lay and a needle, buzzing like a frantic wasp,
bites
at my flesh,
outlines
of those soft petals unfolding on my shoulder
those
dying petals
falling
down
my
back
caught in a moment of
beginning and end.
and
so while springtime in Sehome
bursts
and
scatters
away….
those
flowers and that sky
echo
in my skin.