Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Fuliginosity



That April of the fall
it was already the burning season;
petal-damp tulips lined
the bent road, curving west.

We donned the camouflaged windbreaker
of nomads, who have nothing but each other—
dashed from rock to rock along the river’s edge
watching flames lick the surface, catching fire
to ferns and evergreens,
and burning down the barns and silos
behind us.

We ran from it, singed, to each other,
knowing together
we’d be able to save us
and our crumpled matchbook hearts
tossed somewhere in the
ka-chunk, ka-chunk, ka-chunk
of old tracks, trained so many
miles long.



© 2014 Jennifer Wagner

15 comments:

Janet Martin said...

this poem paints wild young love in raw color and imagery! LOVE it!

Brian Miller said...

great last stanza...from singed together...to the matchbook hearts...it has some great elements to it...

Anonymous said...

This is a perfect poem for Spring, with its imagery and youthful spirit.

Wendy Bourke said...

"the burning season" - an inspired metaphor. Awesome, actually. And your title (I confess, I had to look it up) . . . perfection!

TALON said...

That last stanza - breathtaking. I loved every bit of this piece. Wonderful writing.

Anonymous said...

Jennifer, I could see this as the opening scene from a movie - really strong pen ~

Ella said...

Jenn, this is so vivid and I love the energy and the noise you shared~ I actually felt like I was with you~
Wonderfully done!

Magyar said...

To become nomads; traveling this bent roadway; we are each other.

Fine work! _m

ayala said...

Gorgeous last stanza :)

Claudia said...

oh i loved the crumpled matchbook hearts
and the ka-chunk, ka-chunk, ka-chunk of the rails... felt

Margaret said...

Exceptional! This really does feel like a snippet to a much bigger story - and THAT means it is great poetry. Honestly, I love your work and in a heart beat would buy a book of yours!

Ron Shields said...

I love this from beginning to end.

janetld said...

I agree: vivid imagery, energetic, and captivating!

parentforward.blogspot.com said...

/and our crumpled matchbox hearts/
beautiful.

Justin Lamb said...

Kind of frightening but kind of exciting, too. Very vivid. I like it.