David Chaloner
SUN HOUSE PROPAGANDA
The hot june days of august push
their advantage to the limits of public opinion
rising through the eighties in banner headlines
An embossed footpath slopes persuasively
from the flimsy shade of summer foliage
flanked by dry lawns scuffed and dull as old shoes
The day opens all its windows
into the thick of things
Abandoned deck chairs sag over smudged shadows
in cohesive light and dusty layers
that deceive the eye
And all those matters thought devious or complex
pause for a while and then dissolve
leaving a muddle of anxious reflections
About to move again
the air shakes out a specious drumming
pressing furrows into the emulsified surface
of the ornamental pond with a shrug
And the mind you change retains the thought
of water in a glass fogged by condensation
heading for the sun
Distorting the line of least resistance
the line you read
to verify the hazard of present events
