Don Colburn: "There"

Water, bone, bed, bedrock—
whatever is underneath, below what’s below.
Sudden touchable quiet, shadow
of a shadow. Weather. Sadness turning
ordinary. Nameless illness coming on.
A knock at the door so gentle
it could be anything. Distance.
The just thing not said, or said too late
or said exactly and without mercy.
Wind rising. Whatever might rise.




"There" by Don Colburn. First published in Ploughshares and later in As If Gravity Were a Theory (Cider Press Review, 2006). Reprinted by permission of the poet.

Art credit: "Bicycle (Shadow of a Shadow Collection)," mixed media & acrylic on canvas, by Shadi Abosada.