Water on the stairwell. Another name for rain
in the sunshine. Blindfolded ballroom
on a fault line. Swallowing. Another name
for covert anger: trees splitting
in the sunshine. Violins in buckets of salt-
water. A silent tongue with a spring:
another name for overt anger. Splitting
knuckles into thunderheads. Myth of power-
lessness: water down a tongue
to erase fault lines. Strings of swallowtails
descending, loud as thunder. Myth of rain:
a stairwell that never stops running.
Cover art: “Feather Kaleidoscope” by Augustina Droze
