Remember how I used to scrape
off irritating little bumps
as if perfect attainment of
a suppler, less eventful shape,
a peace at the expense of love,
and armchair grace, had quite become
a sort of holy grail?
The day I finally attained
the perfect peace I’d sought, I heard
a voice from somewhere that explained
the living’s really in the lumps.
I was struck dumb
but thought the thought absurd
and then it rained.
There was a leak.
I found a pail.
It had a hole.
I got wet, some,
and laughed. Still wet, I went to buy
another one and at the store
while dripping on the Housewares floor
and testing out pail after pail
(that quest as well a sort of grail)
saw you—at which embarrassment
you laughed. A red rushed to my cheek.
I did not would not dared not speak.
Then later in the parking lot
I woke
and spoke.
A sudden clearing of the sky
implied another absurd thought
as if you’d come
to represent
escape
from sheer perfection’s boring path.
The rest of course is aftermath:
Now peace is not preempted war
but in a living attitude
while any lack of grace I more
than make up for with gratitude—
of which I down an overdose
then dowse you with imperfect rhymes
I can’t help. But recall the times,
my dear: It was a very close
scrape.
About James B. Nicola
James B. Nicola is a frequent contributor to Wild Violet. His six full-length collections are Manhattan Plaza (2014), Stage to Page (2016), Wind in the Cave (2017), Out of Nothing: Poems of Art and Artists (2018), Quickening: Poems from Before and Beyond (2019), and Fires of Heaven: Poems of Faith and Sense (2021). His decades of working in the theater as a stage director, composer, lyricist, playwright, and acting teacher culminated in the nonfiction book Playing the Audience: The Practical Guide to Live Performance, which won a Choice award. A Yale grad, he hosts the Hell's Kitchen International Writers' Roundtable at his library branch in Manhattan: walk-ins welcome. Website: <a href="James B. Nicola is a frequent contributor to Wild Violet. His six full-length collections are Manhattan Plaza (2014), Stage to Page (2016), Wind in the Cave (2017), Out of Nothing: Poems of Art and Artists (2018), Quickening: Poems from Before and Beyond (2019), and Fires of Heaven: Poems of Faith and Sense (2021). His decades of working in the theater as a stage director, composer, lyricist, playwright, and acting teacher culminated in the nonfiction book Playing the Audience: The Practical Guide to Live Performance, which won a Choice award. A Yale grad, he hosts the Hell's Kitchen International Writers' Roundtable at his library branch in Manhattan: walk-ins welcome. sites.google.com/site/jamesbnicola
10 Comments
Thank you, James,for this–finding a wholly fresh way to express romantic feeling is a big deal, as far as I’m concerned. And you found it here!
All best,
Jimmy
Thank you, James. I cannot wait to share this with my Valentine. Hallmark has got nothing on you.
Best wishes, and much love to you.
Gregory
Thank you, James. This poem is so you. Jumping off every stanza. I can just picture you reading/telling it.
What a wonderful poem<James!Love,Eve
Good fun, James. Your “Wind in the Cave” is a good read, too.
Joan
Lovely, James.
Lovely,just lovely!!
Thank you, James. You made me think, you made me feel, you made me appreciate and want more.
Sweet poem, James. Thanks for sharing with us!
Like honey, so sweet.
Thank you!