Noumenon, and: A Poem by Dean Young by Mary Ruefle by Cindy King

Noumenon, and: A Poem by Dean Young by Mary Ruefle by Cindy King Cindy King (bio) Noumenon The bed was thus, the curtains were therefore.The moon floated past the window frameand appeared to be. Fans roared as softly as.A blue light becoming, or a windunlike anything outside.Or a memory of, but less than.In other words, a fine dust settling on the dust ruffle.Released from memory. Released into remembering.Motor coach and reservoir, children and fools.The pasture being itself, in other words, midnight, perfume.Schopenhauer breathing into a paper bag.Sequins, rutabaga, emerald hills.Burj Khalifa and a feelingthat in a moment anything could.That the clouds might.4:00 pm Al Ain: what to say?Or your voice, the risk of. And rebar.Then traffic, rushing as if it could stop.Sure it could.The noise, the ticking. Noise,noise, boom. You letting gowas unlike. You leavingwas nearly like. [End Page 183] A Poem by Dean Young by Mary Ruefle by Cindy King Assume for decadesI haven't suffered a cataclysmic,life-altering event. A pregnancy, a loss,an assault of any kind. The dogin the raincoat is a global phenomenon,an international incident, a cosmic,seismic event. Doesn't believe in anxiety,Doesn't believe in facial recognition software.Assume I haven't seen bulls swabbedonto cave walls. Assume I haven't tried the world'smost poisonous fish. Assume I have crushed,then failed to resuscitate, the scorpion in my bathtub.(I'm that kind of person.)Assume I haven't burned an effigy of Renée Jeanne Falconetti.Assume more than once I have sobbed in public places.Of course, I've never painted a Pollock by numbers.Many times have I never painted a Klein by the number(the one corresponding with blue).Never have I left a painting at your doorstep.Never have I poured paint into your mouth.Never have I died. Never, as a consequence, have I lived.I'm sorry. No, I apologize. Someone told menever to apologize for being late, butto thank them, instead, for waiting.Maybe now the neighboring countriescan live in peace and the dead can returnas starlings and gather in the evening sky. [End Page 184] Cindy King Cindy King is the author of a book-length poetry collection, Zoonotic (Tinderbox Editions, 2022), and two poetry chapbooks, Easy Street (dancing girl press, 2021) and Lesser Birds of Paradise (Southeastern Louisiana University Press, 2022). Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in the Sun, Threepenny Review, North American Review, Denver Quarterly, Cincinnati Review, and elsewhere. Cindy was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up swimming in the shadows of the hyperboloid cooling towers on the shores of Lake Erie. She is an associate professor of creative writing at Utah Tech University and an editorial assistant for Seneca Review. Copyright © 2023 Middlebury College