Steps
Brady Bowen 1973 (Louisiana)
hirty-six steps this corridor
in this darkened quiet mausoleum of medicine
midnight, disinfected ignominy of waiting in expectancy
I feel like I am awaiting a storm in cosmic negative;
soon, the sunstorm-cloud will drop a deluge of syrup light
into the wet grey of living hastily
her arrival is the spirit-springtime.
Nineteen steps to chaos
through a throng of carnal carnival workers
resplendent in their sea-colors; step right up and see
but only if you are garbed as we
you see, time is mercurial in velocity when fear strikes
one minute burns instantly, the next a slow fuse
the love-bearer seeks your comfort; your courage in transfusion
I feel like a curved-horned herd king
with the yellow lightning of fear arcing point to point
his arrival is harvest joy
Fifty-one steps to calmness
up into the tower of joy, deliberate
all are silent here; the morning hasn't rolled over
in dark stillness of damphaired, hushed happy-think
my spirit arrives in effigy; defiant
her black wings brush my face and I smile
Inside me it is summery christmas
About this poem
About the births of my children
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Written on November 12, 2008
Submitted by BradyB999 on March 14, 2022
Modified on April 11, 2023
- 55 sec read
- 9 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABCXXCX XXCCXXBXXX DXAXXXD |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,050 |
Words | 183 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 10, 7 |
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"Steps" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/122510/steps>.
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