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