Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Nicolette Stasko

Dead Air

Dead Air

Dead Air

Apparently
every room has dead air   
something to do with the sound
and each unique
I am trapped inside
like the air 
swimming in gelatine  clear
extract of hoof and bone
it is the fourth day
I follow the ritual
precisely
trailing the sun
as it moves around the house
testing the panes of glass
with my face
for the exact moment
of opening or closing
drawing the blinds pulling
the curtains shut
I can tell the time
on this heat clock
like a midwife I long
for some kind of birth
watching steam
from the kettle rise
to the skylight
like a sacrifice
Close

Dead Air

Apparently
every room has dead air   
something to do with the sound
and each unique
I am trapped inside
like the air 
swimming in gelatine  clear
extract of hoof and bone
it is the fourth day
I follow the ritual
precisely
trailing the sun
as it moves around the house
testing the panes of glass
with my face
for the exact moment
of opening or closing
drawing the blinds pulling
the curtains shut
I can tell the time
on this heat clock
like a midwife I long
for some kind of birth
watching steam
from the kettle rise
to the skylight
like a sacrifice

Dead Air

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