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At college, we were fans of the rain test—

He thought that if you ran quickly through a downpour

you would get less wet

than someone walking. We ran it often skittering

from the greenhouse to the concert hall of glass and dark woods

and through a back stairway to the library

where I would get one record at a time.

Early music or Joni Mitchell, in the dark, while

my fighting roommates slept, and the water ran down

every lizard tree trunk outside.

j_moody: I really like the imagery of this poem, and its premise-- the reenactment of a college student's mindset, with its tests of whimsical theories, its studious activities, the treasured objects that are at that place. Its a good memory poem. Maybe overlay it with some current day perspective or some other layer of meaning to bump it one notch higher and get at some meta-level idea-- like what role these memories play in your current day-to-day life, what role those people play in your life, how you continue these rituals or that kind of whimsical experimentation, or how you have lost all that? I hope you can see what I'm getting at. No criticism intended, I enjoy entering the world of your poem, I just know it might have even more impact with just a few subtle alterations-- alterations that only you can make. sscheckter: thanks very much for your comments! i'm working on some revisions. i've changed the 'lizard' reference. j_moody: cool-- i still like reading it. it has a cool flow to it. look forward to seeing the changes. Add comment