Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


FORTY-PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN by TIMOTHY LIU

Poet Analysis

First Line: THE WATER IN YOUR FLOWER VASE FIVE DAYS OLD

The water in your flower vase five days old,
my radio losing its signal as the sky
draws near. Or is it fear of dying alone
that moves us toward each other in this room,
petals falling on a Bible marked in red.
Only static hiss from a local station
comforts us, signing off in a still small voice
that echoes in our bones, a moon now painting
the side of a broken bed where our faces
grow too heavy for us to lift, and the room
we share starts sinking into the ground.


Used with the permission of Copper Canyon Press, P.O. Box 271, Port Townsend, WA
98368-0271, www.cc.press.org



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