Between the Brackets
I have seen the rain-drenched pavements
Sparkle like diamonds-
(I was down and out).
And again they have repelled me,
Looked horribly greasy
Like the knives of an eating-house-
(After a run of luck).
While cellos and violins
Sang a tormentingly beautiful
Andante of Tschaikowsky's,
And even the stars leaned on the hill-tops
To listen,
1 wondered if the hot-dog man
Would cover expenses-
(And I love music).
She rushed to my back-door,
Face distorted with terror, grief.
"Come quickly-he is stricken,"
She whimpered.
It was most annoying:
I was punctuating a jingle-
(That morning I had said to him
Sincerely,
"Any time you need me... ."').
Light enough to illumine a tenement
Was focused on her slender form
Glittering like a sword-fish
In the moonglade;
The continents acclaimed her beauty:
I forgot her-
Snowflakes filled the night air,
Myriads of moths.
(Feminine loveliness sings to me).
Fog rolled over the mountain-crests,
Poured down the slopes, veiled completely
The candelabra of the yuccas,
The sky-blue larkspurs,
The red splashes of Indian paint-brush:
I was at peace in nothingness-
(The rainbow is my palette,
The sun my pot of gold).
Structure
41 lines · 5 stanzas