ROOM ON FIRE

any river lined
with cherry trees
the shape
of a lower lip
as smooth as
the stones
beneath where
the first blossom
touched the surface

i get this way
sometimes dreaming
of a lone blossom
floating downstream
towards autumn

when the maple
outside our kitchen window
brilliantly burns out
and sheds it's leaves
weeks before the others do

but then
there is always
that afternoon
when the angle
and trajectory
are just right

and i will sit
as she prepares dinner
watching as she pauses
to fix her hair
which has come loose
from it's binding

About Paul Kent:

Paul Kent leads a quiet life in the foothills of North Carolina.