Poetry by Elizabeth Adan : heart petal words

Poetry by Elizabeth Adan : heart petal words

heart petal words

this afternoon the clouds were bubbling macbeth again

and I found myself whispering

mouthfuls of sage smoke under my breath

lungs filling with ginger roots

and an army rising from my sequoia hair

brewing storms and doors to the kingdom

we knew it could be opened

only by the sesame king himself

but the prayer slipped from your lips just in case

(just in case)

you asked for lobsters on rolls

and I was donning diamond bracelets in the sky

to remind us we’re not on a dock by the riverside

not rolling lazy along the water

like old travelers in a steamboat

not made of air and water and sometimes light

but also somehow still

we are all of those things plus stars

and also none of them

playful dancing cactus calliope tunes

still pierce the stubborn sticky spring air

as the cloud transforms my hot July into a lion

and for some reason

his actions implied he still liked the circus

or at least my mind games on plywood paper

so tell me someday

why I was only given one heart instead of many

and had to break it into pieces

to spread my love and punishment

as far as the ashy hills of north carolina

where cooking popcorn in a pan

beats roasting peanuts in the gallery

every time they play monopoly

although the board sits untouched for days

while the bank remains un-raided

and the iron stays hot

the clouds loomed heavy with hints of orange and purple

as they circled fierce around the arboretum for a cage match

causing echoes and ripples

across the grassy sheep hills over paradise ridge

but they could only be seen with nutmeg precision

from a dirt road along the left-hand side of the building

so bring your black car

oh the things we feel

oh the things

oh the things we feel

when you wear the ring long enough to make an impression

and when it doesn’t make it that far

or when it does

and the stairs you walked on to get there

were piles of woodchips and heart petal words

left like the loose change

of an ungrateful millionaire

in the idaho gravel unsaid