Promise
it is not
gravity
but gravitas
that affects –
scalp radaring
neck swanned
shoulders yoked
chest dished
& ribs harp-tight yet
pressed into themselves
‘a la Slinky or
regi-mental double time,
diaphragm trembling,
crotch on the verge
of liquidity, incendiary,
as if one more adjective
would take our legs
from beneath,
dissipate or
explode us –
the weight
from without
disproportionate even
to the wait
held barely
within