Descending melody
Emily Ford
The wind is set to D minor
the sky drops its opera
first on the heads and shoulders of the land
then in our front gardens
the lyrics go like this
done we are done, bury it all
I want to take my clothes off
and lie in the snow
I want osmosis
I want to fall upon the world
the laughter is too piercing
dull it
we shiver not from cold
not always
sometimes we shiver
because we recognise
the voice that makes the pines bristle
the grass is too green, blanket
all in white, toss the air opaque
cupping mugs of brief comfort
draping multicoloured lights
across dead things and facades
block out the sun
holding each other
under duvets under blankets
block the roads, separate them
nesting in couch corners
lighting spiced candles
shuffling carbs from cupboards
to ovens to plates
darken their mornings
when the worst happens,
there is comfort in this
blustering melancholy
they will see nothing beyond their feet
