Poems

Rain Out at Sea
Poems by Jeanne Minahan
Music by Ya-Jhu Yang
A Tale
Once upon a time there was a man
and a woman
but it’s all downhill after that.
You put a potato in a sauce too salty—
What goes in a tale too sad,
too full of tears?
Request
Not just a beach, she said,
but a sandy beach.
I don’t mind if the water’s cold or hot,
only,
it should be salt, salt water.
It should be the sea,
the real sea.
Please.
After Aristotle
You could begin or end
in the middle
but no one middles at the start
or close of things.
Not the day—that would be too hot,
not a meal—improper banquet,
not a love—there are rules
that forbid such sorrow.
He Writes of His First Love
I am thinking of her.
My canoe slides downstream.
The current untangles itself
as the boat pushes through it.
I am thinking of her.
The river is nothing like her black hair,
though it braids itself in my wake,
though its blackness drowns my lingering fingers,
though I dive when I should be in my bed,
sleeping.
That Summer
It was the season of linen.
Some times I took your hand,
or you, I think,
took mine.
We sauntered in the gardens,
we sunk our heels in sand.
It was the linen of summer
I gathered in my hands.
In winter there was a leaving,
I took my time, I took my time.
I don’t remember grieving,
though I remember your hands.
What It Would Be: Three Guesses
To See You Again
rain in the desert
blossom in concrete
song from the swan
silence from the crow
flame flame flame
with no wood
to burn slow.
To Kiss You Again
rain out at sea
blossom in the meadow
songbird in the morning
silence in the snow
flame flame flame
my boxed heart
burns low.
To See You Never
rain
blossom
song
no
song
flame
flame
flame.


