Clayton Medeiros's Shared Poems

The pontoon plane crawls noisily
By carbon smudged clouds
Hiding the afternoon sun
A pleasant diversion from the
Jet planes whooshing to and from
Hawaii Las Vegas Oakland
Mesa San Diego
Loaded with Canadians
Escaping Vancouver’s high prices
The pontoon plane climbs steadily
Puttering through the sky
As if the air were some thick syrup
It brings memories of old TV shows
From the nineteen fifties with
Heroes in their noisy prop planes
Landing on lakes and rivers
To save the day from evil
Almost always contained in
Some scruffy black haired
Never to be trusted bad guy
Who would learn a lesson
Before the program ended
About right and wrong

A rhapsodist
A lyrical musician
Of conversation
On the page
In contemplation
Each nascent moment
His face infuses
Surrounding air
In anticipation
of what might be said
To stranger friend or foe
About any and all things
Suddenly brought to life
In words and gesture

She carried her days
In shrouds of disappointment
Salvation out of reach from
A past too distant for thought
Buried with those who loved her
With those who despised her
With those indifferent to her
In long ago times now lost
When each hour came and went
In rounds of days and nights
Cafes and restaurants
Performances and plays
Conversations as if they
Signified something

Perhaps silence is the best strategy
D. Salinger choosing to disappear
Into the New Hampshire hills
Only an interview by a high school girl
To sate the hungry followers
In search of news of the Glass family
Or a Holden Caulfield sequel
Even now there is talk of secret novels
Hidden away until some future time
Ralph Ellison let his work speak
Harper Lee quietly stayed home

What do the bricks know
After years and years
Of authors’ book talks
Biographies and poetry
Novels and memoirs
Writer’s words and voices
Offer solace perhaps
For bricks’ foundational work
Holding up the roof beams
Keeping out wind and rain
As the sound of books
Disappears in the night