Poem By Katie Cugno

Here is a poem by Katie Cugno (that's Ms. Cugno to some), who kindly gave me permission to reprint it from her blog; the sounds and imagery of the poem are splendid:

The Shingle Life

by Katie Cugno

Sneakily surveying the scene
rain spatters and bursts
at the seams
shattering through dreams
of the asleep

streams charge,
change jingling onto shaking shingles
after jumping (joyous) from the sky
anxious to rouse a ruckus
on the roof
jitterbugging into tin and wee hours,
co-mingling caution with wind

Success: the innards of this monster have been rattled--
roused as well as ruckus--
rest abating,
guts awakened and waiting
for the storm to stop
or the roof blow off

brave shingles grow afraid as well
shuddering and fluttering they
stutter and mumble to one another

will we make it, this time?

will wind subside before
we lose...our lives?


As hopefulness sways,
and faith like rest abates
a shingle is broken and bounces away


the others dismay
for a moment
but then notice
their own attachment still
to the roof.


Always to the roof.

Through the howling scowling wind and rain,

The ones who remain remain attached,
and afraid...


and some stationarily stuck
shivering shingles
stop and think wait,
to where could that wind rip a shingle away?

to certain sudden death...
or freedom, by a bay?
Free from constraints,
Far from battery by beating rain...


And the next little shingle that flittered away
lifted its own single self from its space
and fluttered--
not stumbled or violently tumbled--
off to freedom
from sleet, snow, most wind...

and rain.

To live a cozy little life on a bay.

Copyright 2008 by Katie Cugno