Paul Ilechko "The Thickness of Bamboo"

The Thickness of Bamboo

 

Bamboo sucks the warmth

       from out of the air     

 

as if a thousand years flashed past

       in that instant of transition     

 

a thousand years of ghosts in lace

       who haunt the gravel paths

       and overgrown thickets

       beside the water     ghosts still

              in their Sunday best     

 

euphoric in their piety     beside the darkness

       of the church     the blackened

       wood and faded leather     binding

       pages of ivory madness     

 

lit by the glimmering

       edges of red and blue

 

that shadowcast from stained glass     

       and reflect from empty eyes    

 

as the bells begin their evening song     

       and the water sits silent and black     

       on a night with no moon.

​

Bio: Paul Ilechko is the author of the chapbooks “Bartok in Winter” (Flutter Press) and “Graph of Life” (Finishing Line Press). His work has appeared in a variety of journals, including Juxtaprose, Rogue Agent, Cathexis Northwest Press, Thin Air Magazine and Pithead Chapel. He lives with his partner in Lambertville, NJ.