Wings
By John Godfrey
I come off a little bit ventilated
but you must realize the material world
is constantly crumbling under my eyes
it's too much for the novel tongue I speak
the glitter of pavement in my brainstem, you
must accommodate the polytonal grimace
of the set lips becoming a smile, and
you must accept the thin section of arm
advancing across your peripheries to grip you
in pleasure, measuring feeling in your restraint
We have lived through the most furious little
chunk of history for this? that we must
unburden ourselves on night roof air, presuming
the poise and perks of champ pigeon teams
planing the evening winds
until, signaled from the roof with a flag
we become American birds
John Godfrey, "Wings" from The City Keeps. Copyright © 2016 by John Godfrey. Reprinted by permission of the author and Wave Books.
Source:
The City Keeps
(Wave Books, 2016)