Friday, August 6, 2010

barely audible signals

listen and you’ll hear the
barely audible signals

no flashlight was this glimmer of light
oh no
this nudge towards better-tuned vision
narrower than a ring of red thread reminder
quicker than subliminal ads and
messages in old black and white movies
where you hear the whirrr-chicka
and see the projector boy’s lazy pocket lint
on certain frames

I never thought why is this,
stepping off the A train into Brooklyn,
deep dark do-or-die
I never wondered why the park and the avenue
and the brownstones and the street people were bathed
in something brighter than sunshine
I followed a Technicolor whisper of
‘this way, this way, come child, come…’

I never stopped
that brightness said go, don’t think
just walk
all the way up the steps to the doorbell
to meet the realtor
who creates everyday realities every day
and say hey

I didn’t notice the pink and purple glints
follow me up this street
but the wind behind said go
and even the wind blowing in my face
said ‘c’mon, roll up against me
that’s a good one…’

and that’s a bad one
when cop car lights spark a warning
in the corner of your eye
the sirens were silent but
don’t be surprised when they really do roll up
plainclothes, cause you know
what you’re chewing to swallow
isn’t fooling no one, especially not
that cop with his flashlight down your throat
his day’s glee in pronouncing possible
federal offense
his cursing confusion that he can’t find the evidence
why you so upset, didjya
finish off your stash at home?

I’ll sing you dream lover songs and
tell you stories galore about
kids in the school where I teach and
proclaim service to this country
to this universe
without attacking yours
you follow?
something told me you would
before you un-handcuffed me

stars don’t shoot, they float overhead with messages
soaring hawks are more than birds
not a coincidence
a moving towards
truth, beauty, purpose, joy, continuation

my country is of we,
breaking through this sugared crust of liberty,
and on the other side of the paper, it didn’t say nothing
and that side was made for us. Listen!


Creative Commons License
barely audible signals by Jessica Tumposky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

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