Una Cosa Me Da Risa
it’s just
the memory of the sky
blue
and maybe it only seemed so blue
because it was the first time i noticed
just how blue it was
or
that it was blue at all
sure
i knew
enough to offer that up
as my answer
when asked
but this was the first time i saw it
and i finally realised what it meant
for the sky to be blue
it seems so simple
until you look at it
and the grass
it had been green
for as long as i’d rolled around in it
buried dead canaries
beneath it
ripped out patches in my small fist
and chewed upon it
it was green when i spit it out
also then
were my tongue and my teeth
it had always been green
gramma told me stories
from when she
was a little girl
and that the grass had been green then too
my mom told the same stories
and likewise
was the grass green when she was a child
but now
as i looked around
i realised what it meant
for the grass to be green
it seems so simple
until you look at it
i do not recall a cloud in the sky on that day
i’m sure they were
but i could not see them
perhaps they were hidden behind houses
or under the leaves of the trees
those still giants that stood in our yard
branches like arms
casting evils away
and their leaves
were green as well
voices whisper in the background
and everything smells like lemonade
and potato salad
i could barely see the ones i loved
because it was too beautiful
a different kind of brightness than i had seen
when i would sit and stare directly into the sun
wondering
how strong my eyes
were
how long
was i able to stand
watching it burn in the sky
but it was early afternoon
and i just kept looking west
soon enough
it would be
there
soon enough we all would
settling
into our darkness
but for this moment
of which
i speak
the grass became truly green
and the leaves on the trees
the voices whispered
loud enough
that i knew they would echo forever
and the sky
it was blue
it seemed so simple until you looked at it
but if you learned
to look away
for
just a second
it was so obvious
that you just laughed
