There is a world where it never stops
raining and it’s this one fallen
leaves cardboard boxes and piles
of newspapers disintegrate before
our eyes what do dry church bells
sound like if I ever knew
I have forgotten birds try
to reassemble waterlogged nests
squirrels tire of digging when everything
below drenched grass is mud
how did I ever get to sleep
stay asleep when it was
just crickets if I ever knew I have
forgotten now there’s a ceiling drip
in the kitchen storms leaking
through the shingles and rafters
slipping around aching joints what
is a windshield view free
of wiper action what does it
feel like to have sunlight
evaporate the backyard
if I ever knew I have forgotten
and if this house must now be
a boat I don’t know how
to steer it to guide it through
rocky rapids and I don’t know
a damn thing about nautical charts.
Jeffrey Letterly is a composer and multi-disciplined performer. He was born and raised in the heartland of the Midwest and now resides in Syracuse, NY. His poetry can be found in Atticus Review, Bird Brained Zine Anthology, Clackamas Literary Review, and The Comstock Review.