The washing machine is off-balance again:
a metronome stomping out rhythm against
all odds and the cool, cracked concrete.
The oil furnace, that old chain and crank timpani,
bleats a rousing call that rises through the walls
like our firey blood, churning and frantic.
The radiators coo. And behind the plaster,
waterpipes gush the green-blue submarine
sound of carillon bells’ leaden clapping.
We fix our eyes upon the ceiling
to offer a recumbent ovation––
full throated and gleaming. Fin.
About the Poet
Matthew Schultz teaches Irish Studies and creative writing at Vassar College. He is the author of two novels––On Coventry (2015) and We, The Wanted (2021). He has recently begun writing poetry, and his first poems have been published in Thrush and Eunoia Review.
For the first time in nearly five years, Vita Brevis is closed for submission. Read the full story here.
Vita Brevis Press. 