PRUDENCE ISLAND
The sky here looks withdrawn,
gray going down the beach and the bay,
a rainbow coming right out of the water,
little waves breaking on this rocky shore.
All summer long it is like this,
you in your burgundy gown in contemplation,
that gorgeous path that leads up to your mouth,
You sit naked wearing pom-pom sandals on Saturdays,
wet hair over your mouth, your mouth on the sand, lilacs nearby,
chocolate milkshakes at noon,
A plane flies a banner that catches everyone’s eye:
only a man can shatter another man’s heart
the appalling admission in a weird moment of clarity—
September 11th playing over and over every day now,
Out at sea it is calm,
beautiful green pools where only fishermen go at night,
our two souls drowning in this from far away,
our white eyelids rolling down like waves,
And everyday we try to escape it,
the distortion from a million different fronts,
the sky with an agenda, the sea with it’s own,
the TV glowing, blue, nearby, our hearts this black hole
that completely surrounds the earth to keep it
in place.
JeanPaul Ferro is a poet, short fiction author, and novelist. His work has been featured in Portland Monthly, Galley Sail Review, Hawaii Review, Newport Review, Cortland Review, Barrelhouse Magazine, Arts & Understanding Magazine, and others. He is a 4-time Pushcart Prize nominee and has been featured on WBAR radio in NYC. His book, "All the Good Promises", was published in 1994 by Plowman Publishing.
