Alli Warren

I

I Want to Thank the Wind Blows

Sound of the rain so I know
there’ s constraint
sound of  the train
so I know commerce
has not come to a standstill
now they raise the barrier
now they set it back in place

What coats the bottom
of  the surface of  the sound
when the swifts come in
when the clerks come home
who will bathe the children
who will bake the bread

when the luff is tight
when the mainsheet
starts the boat underway

whatever you do don’ t
let the tongue slip
from its moorings