‘The Big Rain’ by James O’Leary

You have been eroding. I don’t know
if the same storm outside my window
is pressing against yours.

To escape the thrumming
I fill a bath
and submerge. My skull

resounds with a quick, dull
tempo. Last week
you still had hair, eyelashes,

and a dog-eared self-help book
by the call button.
Last week you still took visitors.

You gave me answers, mostly
medical. Your private room
was full of things you didn’t use:

wall-mounted TV, polished black shoes,
Jesus on the cross
with an acrylic gut wound.

I release the bath water. Cold pushes
through cracks and single glazing.
I emerge, slowly, like sarsen stone.

From issue #3: autumn/winter 2016

About the Author
James O’Leary’s poems have appeared in The Honest Ulsterman, Southword,Bare Hands Poetry, The Incubator, Wordlegs, and The Burning Bush 2. He is a contributor at sabotagereviews.com and his poetry films have screened at festivals in Ireland, Scotland and Canada. Find more at vimeo.com/larico and @laric0 on Twitter.