A woman turns off the kitchen light.
What she means is: I can smell the coming rain
Sliding in on a muscle of wind.
The wind is insistent and argumentative.
What it means is: existence is no more
Than a change in barometric pressure.
Barometric pressure is measured by mercury.
What it means is: the soft tissue of our skin
Is a palimpsest of memory and storm.
Storms enfold both darkness and grace.
What they mean is: the Earth is a supplicant
To everlasting mortality.
A woman reaches her hand across an empty bed.
What she means is: darkness is physical
And must be touched.
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Ken Holland, poet and Pushcart Nominee is the winner of the 2019 Stephen DiBiase Poetry Competition.
Lightwood 