Alla Prima

by Adrian Silbernagel

As to what, or who, will deliver you to day.
Decide to climb a fire escape.
No emer­gency emerges—climb it anyway,

And as you mount the final rung lean back
to open and flood your lungs with onyx
oxy­gen: elixir of the half-gods of dawn, even

Over­dose. It is of para­mount impor­tance
here, to not fear abun­dance: the full
moon fondling a harem of androg­y­nous birches

At the out-skirts of town—femme on femme
light— white magic just cast
across the lost field of vision

Like no tomor­row, and oh—the deep breeze
moan­ing through those smooth,
those moon-strewn knees.

It is of para­mount impor­tance to embrace
rep­e­ti­tion, again and again,
the object of pas­sion, and let go

The breath gain­ing speed for speed’s sake,
no—for the sake of the breath—
a wind chime unfreez­ing from the frostbitten

Branch: relearn­ing how to sing
is not rocket sci­ence, nor life sup­port,
whether art or not art, and of the infinite

Mas­ter­works eight appendages can muster
in the hours of entan­gle­ment
when 9–5’s dis­solve into the ambiance

Of ambu­lances, neon, and late-night cafes
become quar­an­tines and safe
houses and pur­ga­to­ries for Johns and Janes,

Janes and Janes, lean­ing into one another
with their backs to the win­dow wherein
The Great Out­doors goes spell-bound as well

As ane­choic, and a fig­ure appears
like a postage stamp
in the upper right hand corner,

And who, if a tree had fallen there,
along the bor­der, would have enveloped
the reverb of each pine cone or acorn

Down to the pin-drop pro­por­tions
of what’s seeded inside them
for whom the sap surges,

Nay, fuels, the bold ques­tions and still
bolder answers. In warm cor­ners
they hud­dle conveniently

With­out rings—to slow aging,
she thinks, and is moved
min­i­mally, and falls

Back, but to sub­tract from the world
the per­sis­tent
lack of snow angels.

Adrian's work has been published in The Atlas Review, The Columbia Review, Rufous City Review, Painted Bride Quarterly, Fruita Pulp, TYPO Magazine, and elsewhere. Visit his website: www.adriansilbernagel.com