Dorianne Laux

Dorianne is a poet who rarely disappoints–simple but profound.

Against Endings

On the street outside the window
someone is talking to someone else,

a baffling song, no words, only the music

of voices—low contralto of questions,
laughter’s plucked strings—voices in darkness

below stars where someone straddles a bike
up on the balls of his feet, and someone else

stands firm on a curb, her arms crossed, two

dogs nearby listening to the human duet,
stars falling through a summer night

a sudden car passing, rap song thumping,

but the voices, unhurried, return, obligatos afloat
on the humid air, tiny votives wavering

as porch lights go out—not wanting it to stop—

and Mars rising over the flower shop, up
through the telephone wires.

by Dorianne Laux