Wortsman, Peter

English

DigitalCommons@Providence

© Providence College  The author(s) permits users to copy, distribute, display, and perform this work under the following conditions: (1) the original author(s) must be given proper attribution; (2) this work may not be used for commercial purposes; (3) the users may not alter, transform, or build upon this work; (4) users must make the license terms of this work clearly known for any reuse or distribution of this work. Upon request, as holder of this work’s copyright, the author(s) may waive any or all of these conditions.  The Prose Poem: An International Journal is produced by The Berkeley Electronic Press (bepress) for the Providence College Digital Commons. http://digitalcommons.providence.edu/prosepoems/ THE PROSE POEM: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL  Volume 2 | 1993 Lonesome Ceilings Peter Wortsman  Peter Wortsman LONESOME CEILINGS The aloofness of ceilings is merely a pose. Don't be fooled by the way they coolly hang above it all, unsullied by the messy scuffle. Scions of privilege, wainscotted or girdled in virginal white, ceilings look on and long to get down. Certain notable exceptions notwith-standing (the Sistine Chapel, Altamira, Grand Central Station, the sky itself), no one ever takes notice but to find fault. Think of the awful burden they must bear without wincing! Is it possible despite the herculean show of strength that the plafond secretly dreams of changing places with the floor? Take a late November 6 o'clock ceiling. Have you never noticed the crude tattoos, the suspicious streaks that break out overhead at twilight! Shadows perhaps. Or perhaps a desperate fantasy played out while the world is busy else-where—a pantomime of plastered timbers aching to be trampled un-derfoot and ravished by gravity. 

Lonesome Ceilings

HELIN Digital Commons

https://digitalcommons.providence.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1150&amp;context=prosepoem

Lonesome Ceilings

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

DigitalCommons@Providence

HELIN Digital Commons