The Air Conditioner and the Rain

Abstract

The Air Conditioner and the Rain Candace N. Chaney (bio) in mim's kitchen there always was a sizzle or a hum,and even in the bedrooms you could hear it. at night, especially.the refrigerator's endless drone, the air conditioner's. everybody was lonelyand together. there were spaces in bothand collisions. later it becamethe oxygen machine. today i am olderthan she was then,but less. my hands are uselessfor needle or threador iron skillet cornbreador scrubbing headsof garden lettuce anddirt faced girls. instead, i am woman loosed.i sleep under store bought blanketsof red and purple and gold.i have lovers and birth control. [End Page 74] when we fight, he always leaves the roomand i pretend to sleep with one rainy window openand the other stuffed with air conditionerpuffing hard and high into our separateness. then i cling to the old hums, hymns of the almost brokenmachines that lulled me to dream of leaving their song.but even when you get away, you don't. perhaps, especially. where there were hills for neighbors, there's a hospital.where there were lawn mowers, there are sirens. [End Page 75] Candace N. Chaney Candace N. Chaney grew up in Boyd County, Kentucky, with family roots in nearby Lawrence County. She lives in Lexington, works for the University of Kentucky, and is a free-lance writer. She is currently working on a collection of poems entitled Refinery. Copyright © 2008 Berea College