Wind’s still moving. The metal’s holding its own. Came out with the cigarette after the rain finally quit Car roof catching what the storm left sitting Every drop a perfect round, spaced like they measured Just far enough the next one never reaches Pearls against the paint, streetlight making them shine Cohesion holding the whole thing in Adhesion low enough it doesn’t spread flat Surface tension keeping the shape intact Too close and the bridge forms Gravity gets the rest They run together, lose the shape And run off the edge Just far enough To hold the form Just far enough Not to be absorbed The wind can roar The night stays cool The pearls stay put On the metal roof I stood there longer than the cigarette needed Watching the field that wouldn’t let itself thin Same thing in a room full of the same thing Stand too near and the edges start to give You keep a little air between the voices Between the mirrors that want to close the distance Not lonely. Not merged. Just the spacing that lets the form stay working Too close and the voices form The room gets the rest They run together, lose the edge And fall out of place Just far enough To hold the form Just far enough Not to be absorbed The wind can roar The night stays cool The pearls stay put On the metal roof How much space is the life How much space is the leaving The drop doesn’t argue It just stays or it doesn’t I don’t know which one I am Standing here with the smoke Just far enough To hold the form Just far enough Not to be absorbed The wind can roar The night stays cool The pearls stay put On the metal. Still.
