2 Poems by Ben Nardolilli

Take Water as an Example

Figure in changes of phase, phrase
You already mastered, hence the degree,
You have paid attention to learn
A process that condenses and releases back
What it has used from others to find:
Some new meaning with the matter at hand.

But phases, these you must master
In preparation for the sure collapse of lattices
That have arranged your life so far,
The sublimation that comes in disasters:
Loved ones suddenly turned to ash and wind,
Or let loose in a vapor of blood.

These will hopefully be rare occurrences,
Yet nerves should be readied for slight
Misfortunes that occur in greater proportions:
The evaporation of funds on a rainy day,
Or when love has melted a barrier for safety
And hate has frozen a former channel.


Mix and Match

I won’t go into too many problems,
I know there’s a morass there,
Possibly here too, I haven’t kept tabs
On exactly where the morass
Has been heading, can it even be tamed?

With a hopeless angel and no chance
Of quick relief from this place,
I know not to ask for wings to flap
And rise because all she has to show me
Are wire drawings and bits of names.

She can keep me caged up for good,
Maybe a long sentence can be a vacation,
No reason to change, or depart,
In time I might produce a classroom,
Nothing else to do with my free time.


Bionote

Ben Nardolilli currently lives in Arlington, Virginia. His work has appeared in Perigee Magazine, Red Fez, Danse Macabre, The 22 Magazine, Quail Bell Magazine, Elimae, fwriction, THEMA, Pear Noir, The Minetta Review, and Yes Poetry. He has a chapbook Common Symptoms of an Enduring Chill Explained, from Folded Word Press. He blogs at mirrorsponge.blogspot.com and is looking to publish his first novel.