The sudden grief of snow early morning,
the brief brook crossing nearby frozen
blocks of stone. A breath of sleet, a scent
of flurries, snow drifting into small spaces,
clean, and everywhere tracks of small mammals.
Icicles slip and fracture, water begins
its movement away, and the smell
of winter's storm, the taste, the feel,
the enormity of so much over so much,
and we are made to feel better standing
on our balcony overlooking the small forest,
a lightning struck tree, whitewashed
brush, waiting for stillness to move.
His name was not the thing that matched him
Nor his alchemy to invent the knives he owned.
He had long pockets heavy with things
Deep and uncomfortable like the syllables of his name
And the company he worked for. The photograph
Laced to his clothing did not match him either,
But the items reaching from shirt pockets
And book bag pouches and the thoughts we could see
In large circles around his head—he was who he was.
Too often a lifetime is as simple as that.
The taxi cab company's back on its feet again,
resting,
the sun rising.
the cement factory's chemical steam washing the air
sky-blue and cloud-light,
long semi trailers docking at the tire distributor
in need of naps,
the river glows,
and the Metra train pulls in on time.
Night shadow diminishes in shape,
criminals, whores, war mongers,
con artists, predators, thieves,
bullies of the dark—night is over.
Construction workers in the towers,
elevated trains off tune swing on the tracks,
coffee shops, cinnamon, coffee,
the development of chocolate—
morning, Chicago.
Michael H. Brownstein has been widely published throughout the small and literary presses. His work has appeared in The Café Review, American Letters and Commentary, Skidrow Penthouse, Xavier Review, Hotel Amerika, After Hours, Free Lunch, Meridian Anthology of Contemporary Poetry, The Pacific Review and others. In addition, he has eight poetry chapbooks including The Shooting Gallery (Samidat Press, 1987), Poems from the Body Bag (Ommation Press, 1988), A Period of Trees (Snark Press, 2004) and What Stone Is (Fractal Edge Press, 2005).