Exercises in scaffolding (2)

see scaffolding explanation in post (1)

Omens of an Affair 

(after James Tate: Consolations After an Affair)

My keys are rattling to one another:

whispering a secret leaked

by the borrowed key from his ring.

I have records in their sleeves

that think the song is still ours.

They know nothing of the broken, bygone player.

For them to be heard in memory

is gratification and needle enough.

My step awakens a creak in the floor,

a vulnerability worth noticing,

but I’m distracted by the fox 

creeping just beyond the window.

I am chilled by the static of unformed words,

haunted by this house of secrets.

Consolations After an Affair

James Tate

My plants are whispering to ona another:

they are planning a little party

later on in the week about watering time.

I have quilts on beds and walls

that think it is still the 19^th century.

They know nothing of automobiles and jet planes.

For them a wheat field in January

is their mother and enough.

I’ve discovered that I don’t need

a retirement plan, a plan to succeed.

A snow leopard sleeps beside me

like a slow, warm breeze.

And I can hear the inner birds singing

alone in this house I love.