Audio: Read by the author.
I begin with the soul, that escape
artist, that meme. And what the dress draped
across the beach chair will shout like a clue
to each wave. And what bodies will make
of disappearance. And what, since I
have begun, the abandoned body
gathers to its tote now along with towel,
snacks, and creams. And what sunlight reading
comes home to a dark house. And what new
absence a mortal discovers. You
couldn’t know what happens, the emptiness
says. Even the dust has moved away.
Richard Robbins was raised in California and Montana but has lived in Minnesota for over thirty years. His most recent book is Body Turn to Rain: New & Selected Poems (Lynx House).
