and there is also a rainbow

By georgelstein


and there is also a rainbow

There are twenty-four in a day, still twelve in a dozen
a constitution, the rule of law
and her simple, happy henchmen
above all is the implacable journey of everyday
humming like a brand new john deere on
an indirect trip to dust,
sunlight falls, temperatures rise,
time slips, sorrow underlies

In the street, from curtained faces, bright eyes turn away
declining painted passageways to foreign lands
at school,in the a&p, hope is an amiable tag liberally tinkled
the Future is calculated and plotted on wall-size maps
the sun rises over still, frigid fields, sleeping, disquieted hearts
beyond the yellow frame of the farmhouse kitchen window
tin metal daisies clang and sigh with the breeze
sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on oatmeal, sorrow
underlies still

The mid-day sun steals green from the crop leaves
peeling red from old barn doors,
in the field, rubies and rusted bolts sleep deep down in the dust
the old tractor needs a fresh bath of unvarnished malevolence
threats veiled and unveiled bring transparent animation
the philco's tubes burn orange-red with caged fire
and a shaky voice sings about untested angel-wings,
steely knives are poised to pierce the veil of granny's apple pie

Over the beanfield, after the tornado
young eyes rescue a waterlogged rainbow struggling to breathe
but find only beer cans and weeds at the uncut tip
evening comes on fast, begs the end of the color spectrum
finishing off a penciled checklist,
the farmer plows his last field for the night
we fade by degrees back to black

Unauthorized Copying Is Prohibited. Ask the author first.
Copyright 2015 georgelstein
Published on Sunday, September 20, 2015.     Filed under: "Reflective" and "Poetry"

Author's Note:

rural indiana life at its finest
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Comments on "and there is also a rainbow"

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  • georgelstein On Sunday, September 20, 2015, georgelstein (62)By person wrote:

    kashmir, tropical, thanks very much for that. This is what happens to you when you listen to neil young for hours.... I would heartily recommend it. Tropical, you are right about the recurrence of fine, and thank you for being gentle. I've switched it up a bit. Thanks very much for the warm thoughts.

  • TropicalSnowstorm On Sunday, September 20, 2015, TropicalSnowstorm (1703)By person wrote:

    great piece! i love all the gritty imagery interspersed with the fantasy elements from Oz. My fav imagery and one suggestion are in the same lines, "Over the beanfield, after the tornado young eyes find a waterlogged rainbow struggling to breathe but find only beer cans and weeds at the uncut tip evening comes on fast, begs the end of the color spectrum"... I love the notion of a waterlogged rainbow trying to breathe, but but there is also something slightly off in this segment. I think it is the use of the word "find" in such close succession, with the second contradicting the first use a little bit. first, they find the waterlogged rainbow, but then they only find beer cans, etc. it seems like the second use of "find" would work better if you use something like "along with" instead. just a thought, as I say I absolutely love that imagery in total, including the beer cans in the weeds. ciao, T/S Scholar

  • A former member wrote: Well toto I don't think we are in Kansas anymore .... This is one of the most vivid pieces I have read in a while I felt as I was standing right there looking at the things described with my very own eyes. Very cool man I really do enjoy your works Scholar

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