Contributor: Ben Nardolilli

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Nothing, friend, can amaze you,
Sticking to the avenues
And calling the side streets an adventure,
You fail to even burrow
Or mine this town of plain and dark places.

The rain falling is what bothers you most,
You have no way to imitate it,
The thunder goes off in nearby car music,
It pierces your air the same,
You have your lightening in the neon bars.

Everything but the rain you have contained,
A shower is close to it,
But you cannot wash along the avenue,
It falls and you fear drowning,
The wetness makes you think of sinking,

Ask these clouds and the storm to leave,
You will have no rain,
The rainbow is a prize for me to see,
But you cannot enjoy it,
You are stained from coloring in the lines.


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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.