when i was a cloud
for Lydia, age 3
and the sky was not was never was all sibilance and zither a fluency blue blue
sun imbued I was the lucent guess of myself a plenitude less bodied less gaveled
all morning and first song all wing and priory the feather's
clerestory nothing yet to defy before the tongue's kick its glottal stop
all vowels and ahs I lived where meaning lives the throat's chancel
all desire was my churning my dirtied feet they purred parabola'd to you
before I became the apple weight thud in your lap gravity's little pink lady
4 replies on “when i was a cloud”
Love this – the idea that Lydia was a cloud before she was born, “…I was the lucent guess of myself…” And the last line – perfect!
Also, I’ve never seen a poem formatted like this – it gave me a sense of scanning the clouds for something. Great way to give additional texture to the experience of reading it.
I loved this too. This poem is beautifully spot on crafted… I love the images and words, which continue to hum in the after memory, when you can no longer see them.
You had me with the first line. Love this poem!