The Power is Out

poem + mixtape

expectantly, they nuzzled their bodies into the void

emboldened winds cut through a deafening silence
and for the first time in three years
i can hear the neighborhood 

a guilty joy sneaks inside
taking refuge above my chest
warm candle light flickers in esoteric time signatures

outside, the swirling darkness promises redemption
i quicken my pace as the world swallows me whole
ripping away preconceived solutions
leaving only an awareness of what always has been 

neighbors emerge from their darkened hideaways
nodding acknowledgements
gingerly stepping over damp concrete
newborns confronting an abyss

mid-crescendo, the absence of space feels devastatingly blissful
yet its velocity must crest
then plummet
to kiss the soft earth

when did you last witness an hour hesitate
before it cautiously snuck away?
what is the value of something half-remembered, 
not yet forgotten? 

when the power goes out
how will you listen? 

- jr 

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