Poets logo

Summer Taper

Taper: gradually lessening or reducing, e.g. (of an endurance sport) reducing training volume leading up to a major competition.

By Svetlana SterlinPublished 2 years ago 1 min read
Like

Summer Taper

[published in Cordite Poetry Review 105 - NO THEME XI]

those were the best days.

pelting rain illuminating

the overcast pool. clouds

as bleak as that Christmas.

what to get Dad on the eve

of his redundancy? or my

mother, burdened with a

promotion in a job that drains

her? or you, who i might

never speak to again? this

is the scattering: like bolts

of lightning through clouds.

no silver lined shapes up

there today. but the air hums

with warmth. and our laughter

beats out the thunder. and

something we did well was

talk. about nothing, like

the constant patter of rain

on the pool. the drains

slurping the dregs of our

meaningless conversations.

all those familiar sounds.

now the thunder booms

like an echo of those days.

this is the scattering: rain

flung to the four corners

of the earth to find a

landing ground on our skins,

the pool covers, the hoods

of our cars. sometimes

it thunders. today, a whisper.

sad poetry
Like

About the Creator

Svetlana Sterlin

Svetlana Sterlin is based in Brisbane, Australia, where she writes prose, poetry, and screenplays. The founding editor of swim meet lit mag, she also edits with Voiceworks.

More from Svetlana: https://linktr.ee/svetlanasterlin

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.