Like a Kettle to Keep You
When it’s not raining . . . read Young? From Issue 5 of A Public Space — “I Don’t Burn” by Kevin Young:
Dear Darkness — consider this
my last attempt
to reach you. My previous
few missives
having boomeranged back
unread, postmarks blurred
by the gloved hands
that tried carrying
them to your door.
Or, torn
by the machines.
I wish
you could see the water
here, so clear
you can see the bottom –
though that’s nothing
new for me. All afternoon
I let sun seep
my skin, steep me
like strong tea.
Despair,
if you’ve moved
I wish you would
send word
or ring.
How I would sing
like a kettle to keep you.