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Sunstruck
by
Laura Stamps
After my youngest cat
jumped from his lunch the
moment the sun slipped
through the clouds, as if
he could hear its golden
pawed approach, and
before the kind handyman
arrived to strip the siding
from the house like peeling
a peach, I am typing in
my office upstairs, when
suddenly tickled by the
gritty scent of grilled steak.
Two strawberry candles in
the kitchen flutter through
my mind like a ruby
hummingbird on a warm
summer night, and I dash
downstairs, trailed by my
energetic cat. One votive
flickers contently, but the
other sizzles like a torch,
painting the air with a blaze
the height of my hand.
Seeing nothing but a dance
of flames, I toss water in
the candle holder, causing
it to crackle like popcorn,
freckling the stove with
sooty wax, ribbons of fire
shooting above my head,
licking the cold plate of
the ceiling. Quickly, I grab
a notebook and tap the blaze
three times to extinguish its
fury, then lock my curious
cat in the bathroom, and
open the sliding glass door,
encouraging the crisp throat
of the pinewoods to swill
the smoke. Afterwards,
while one cat howls in
captivity and the other two
trip through dreamtime's
sleepy fields, I scrub galaxies
of black wax from my ivory
stove, marveling at the
pillar of fire that fearlessly
appeared in my kitchen, this
burning bush tasseled with
a thousand sticks of sunshine,
as if I knew what it meant,
as if I had asked for a sign.
Laura
Stamps is an award-winning poet and writer. Over five hundred
of her poems, short stories, and poetry book reviews have
appeared in literary journals, magazines, anthologies,
and broadsides. She is the author of twenty-five
books of poetry and prose. New books this year include
a novella Angel (2004, Kittyfeather Press) and
a poetry chapbook In
the Garden (2004, The Moon). Her poetry chapbook Cat
Daze was a Finalist in the 2004 Plan B Press Chapbook
Competition, and her fiction chapbook White
Porches was a Semi-Finalist in the 2004 Winnow Press
Chapbook Award in Fiction competition. Two of
her poems are included in the celebrity anthology Open My Eyes, Open My Soul (2003, McGraw-Hill
Books). More information about books by Laura Stamps
can be found at www.kittyfeatherpress.blogspot.com.
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