Rain spoils

A free verse poem

rain spoils
crops, unpaved roads, running grounds
fresh paint, white shoes,
moods, plans.

clothes hang threadbare on a thin rope outside
two mine, three my lover’s,
thrifted happiness, pricey numbness,
no rescue missions for either.

coffee mugs on the balcony table
one coaster-shut, one with a floating cigarette butt,
dripping black tar, expansive,
consuming all colours.

a strange steel bowl brimming by the railing
ah, right, we had a child once,
just his cherished child, my paper eater,
what undoing of a tiny creature.

eyes clenched, return to dreamland
go outside, run mad or maybe sing,
paint the dark, let the lump die,
the world can only bear so much water.

two worlds, really,
one running astray, disruptive and noisy,
one still, safe, sandalwood-scented,
and the half-open door is no help.