Peter Cooley

AND THIS IS HOW IT HAPPENS

Because I have been happily
staring at the rain gutter
which is not glazed but nimbused
not with water but a gold
proceeding from the surround
or from within maybe
gutters of my neighbor Cathy’s house
me staring from the laundry room window
for 29 minutes now and still counting
and no one is here except the dawn and me
a little gold spot
I try to name but can’t
the place without fear
gracelight of paradise
but that’s not quite right
light I can’t account for

Author: Peter Cooley

Peter Cooley is Professor Emeritus at Tulane University and was Louisiana Poet Laureate 2015-2017. His 11th book was THE ONE CERTAIN THING, elegies for his wife, who died in 2018.

Plume: Issue #138 February 2023