soft rain on the pavement of a city street
fast cartwheels foot-falling down a narrow hall
bottlecaps shaken in a tin
my dog’s paws tick-ticking along a polished wooden floor
fling of harp and crush of piano
the yellow magnolia warblers’ song
names like Sarah and Michael and Limor
snorts
snuffles
sneezes
the carving path of an animal’s breath
thunder’s hills and valleys
toes that sink into tiny wet rocks
the smack-tan of the leather manufacturer
shoestrings pulled through an eyelet
bowtie clips
2-3-5 stacked ceramic plates
the settling of a slow-rolled quarter
candle’s hiss and pop
your heart
beat
Published in Cider Press Review, Volume 25, Issue 4.
Paula Brancato is a NY-based writer, poet, filmmaker and Harvard MBA, giving her work a unique, creative voice. Her literary awards include The Booth Poetry Prize, Danahy Fiction Prize and Brushfire Poet Award. Her work has appeared in Kenyon Review, Mudfish, Bomb Magazine, The Virginia Quarterly, Ambit Magazine, Georgetown Review, Litchfield Review and Southern California Anthology. Paula taught poetry and screenwriting at USC and Stony Brook Southampton and is a graduate of Hunter College and LA Film School.
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