truepenny | poetry lamenting war #8

Terminal Colloquy

O where will you go when the blinding flash
Scatters the seed of a million suns?
And what will you do in the rain of ash?

I'll draw the blinds and pull down the sash,
And hide from the light of so many noons.
But how will it be when the blinding flash

Disturbs your body's close-knit mesh,
Bringing to light your lovely bones?
What will you wear in the rain of ash?

I will go bare without my flesh,
My vertebrae will click like stones.
Ah. But where will you dance when the blinding flash

Settles the city in a holy hush?
I will dance alone among the ruins.
Ah. And what will you say to the rain of ash?

I will be charming. My subtle speech
Will weave close turns and counter turns--
No. What will you say to the rain of ash?
Nothing, after the blinding flash.

--Charles Martin, Room for Error. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1978.

LINKS:
Short biography here. Review of his most recent book, Starting from Sleep: New and Selected Poems (Overlook Press, 2002), here. Little essay by Martin answering "What's American about American Poetry?" here.

NOTE:
Okay, not exactly an anti-war poem, but the sentiment is compatible. And it's resonating for me today. And, besides, I love it.