Caleb Puckett


Lives Lived Between Floors: An Elevator Ride

With the insistence of Donizetti, the stillborn martyrs of light-hearted operas found a way to ache in the darkness of the streets as Paris became paralyzed with those soft old deceits that burn half-notes in pipe bowls and drink dust for relief. With the insistence of Mahler, the modesty of fruit, spinach and water brought forth the singing bone that broke the woodland kingdom open with the violence of a wine goblet swung into an unsuspecting skull. With the insistence of Mozart, the cathedral’s vault collapsed with the rain and the remains of its sainthood slipped into a grave unmarked among the mounds of cold mud, the indifferent monuments of a public that ignores the pitch of its own shovels. Once you reach the basement, all of those glorious notes begin to dull and the car alarms take over. This is what we call a crescendo.

Caleb Puckett's work may be seen in forthcoming editions of Lamport Court, The Paris Bitter Hearts Pit, Salt Flats Annual and in a collaborative chapbook to be published by Kendra Steiner Editions. At present, his chapbook Desertions is available from Plan B Press.

 
 
 
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