So Clear Now – Not a Mythological Reference

Because you and I and everyone are probably all pretty tired of Greek mythology.  If you are in the U.S., I hope you had a nice Memorial Day holiday today. If you are in Brazil, where the trucking strike is going on, along with other strikes enacted in sympathy with the truckers, I hope you are safe and well-provisioned for another week or so–during which time I hope the situation will be resolved.  In hopes of providing a bit of distraction, I offer a newish poem, So Clear Now. It’s one of those coming-of-age circumstances when suddenly you realize what you thought was a certain thing turns out to be not exactly right. There are nuances, factors, shades of reality that you otherwise might not have realized–except some parent made sure you got glasses to correct your eyes. And, suddenly, the world was a different place.

So Clear Now

You can step back from the television
no matter it’s a small, cold, black & white set
always on the verge of sparking or fizzing

because now the grainy figures are clearer
the gray and darker gray of the tree leaves
stir and flip overheard while the dark-skinned man
walks a dark-skinned woman wearing
a double-breasted coat shiny buttons buttoned against wind of vague origin
down a dark streak of asphalt lit only
by that light fake from somewhere outside themselves

and her coat has the texture of wool now you are sure
it has the felt and weave of good wool kept clean

this was a favorite this movie you’ve always known

and the man wears a topcoat and slacks and shoes that clack
on the almost oily it’s so black street
his fedora stays on somehow and he holds the woman’s elbow
as if she would fly away or be torn from him
but she has no hat only a scarf wrapped around her head
her hair flies from under it in back and also tendrils at her temples escape
actually now you see she has an awful lot of hair
tucked under the scarf and the ends of the scarf itself
its flower petal design gray on light gray on gray of wet dawn
whip about in the wind and it seems also there is rain

and all of it is fake fake the wet the wind the night sky somehow shining upon them

the way the man seems so grim about what is only fake rain
the woman so frail when surely she never seemed frail to you before
how many times you saw this up until now and now you see it all

even fake oak leaves plastered on the fake asphalt lane
as if fallen from what was clearly elm not oak
and the woman’s high shiny patent pumps
have probably never walked further than
across that stage

and even you see that the man wears eyeglasses
not so different from your new glasses
everything is so clear now

and this movie so famous and one you loved to watch
leaning on your elbow, on the icebox, face a few inches from the screen
which is not much larger than your head
except until now the movie seemed so lifelike

but now you see the planks beneath the fake tarry road

now it’s not a love story there’s no happily ever after there’s
only the false front of the world

that you can’t unsee can’t ever unsee
but you’re right as you should be, all better,
fixed right up the eye doc said yeah right fixed right up

If you enjoyed So Clear Now

You can read more of my work on this blog or in the collection Stars Crawl Out From Their Caves, which is available in both ebook and print.  Missed a poem of the week? Links to prior weeks are on this page.  

If you’d like to see pics of what I’ve been up to lately, easiest is to follow me on Instagram, @minervatma. You can also view my Instagram feed here on this page of my site, if you prefer not to spend time on Instagram itself.

And, comments welcome, as always–have a great week, and look for another poem next Monday.