26 Oct The Last Molecules of My Wild Life by Celia White
must be in the stratosphere by now
sifted out of the fog
of San Francisco, the snow
of Hadley, Massachusetts, the grit
of New York City,
the brick dust of Allen Street
in Buffalo, New York.Where are you now?
the confetti of our early poems gone
the sweat of first love
the chalk dust on your trousers
salt & vinegar splinters of nostalgia
crumbs of the marijuana brownie
now all vapor
metaphysical mulch
mere memory
I remember, though.
the sedate life, the one on the couch, at the desk, in the café, in the cave
spins too syrup slow no less infinite but graceful, gradual
does not mint the recollections like those
the ones I used to rub between my fingers
memorizing the jagged edge
fingerprint wearing thin
I lick my fingers to find it again
never finding it
gone
About the Poet
Celia White is a Buffalo-based librarian, award-winning poet, fiction writer, researcher, and occasional journalist. She is the author of Letter (Ambient Books), a full-length collection of poems, and the chapbooks Cusp, Drink, Lit, Sip, and her most recent chapbook Bar (Blurb Books, 2021), which is available online or locally at your favorite Buffalo independent bookseller.
Related Event
- Celia White will join poet Ansie Baird in a reading from their new work at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, October 28 at Fitz Books and Waffles, 1462 Main St. in Buffalo. The event is free and open to the public.
The Poem of the Week feature is curated by literary legacy awardee R.D. Pohl.