if time were a blue bowl
with a lock of Elvis’ hair inside
and you were a river
playing a blue guitar
writing a Petrarchan sonnet about the weather
in Paris this time of year

I would only be dazzled by your
infinite imagination and dazzling energy
and your brilliant resilience
and your taste for life and revenge
a flawless diamond souffle served cold upon
a world you haven’t even begun to taste

and if middle earth became
middle age one day
you might be a river and I would be your song
and a boat without oars flying over the rapids
and a baby crying from within

and time would be a blue bowl
with a shock of Elvis’ blue black hair inside
ebbing with the tide and the rising sun
and the dishes compose a symphony
a silver spoon become your world and your oyster
altogether and plain and simple

pure as a bar of ivory soap
easy as water under the bridge
someone jumped off
and regretted immediately
but didn’t live to tell the tale
difficult as love can be sometimes

KELLY J. POWELL is a poet native to Long Island and a graduate of SUNY Binghamton’s Creative Writing Program in 1988. She has performed widely on Long Island and NYC. She has a new book of poems called Posthumously Yours from local gems press available on Amazon.