Archival Storage – by Paul Ilechko

Light pills and stutters feinting
and globular   faded edges of shadow
as broken horses pause beneath
a locust tree

their memories of glory retaining
for this day a cloudy joy   refracted
and refined by light

a metaphor that spreads untainted

the spreading wings of geranium birds
who preach a catholic salvation

beyond the filtering fields   inside
the manse a horseless world   a glass
image   placing history as emergent

a scent of cardamom   as deep below
these ancient cedar planks the documents are
saved   the old recordings archived inside
the furnace tunnel

a place that has no light

a life that has no place

captured and preserved


Paul Ilechko is the author of the chapbooks Bartok in Winter (Flutter Press) and Graph of Life (Finishing Line Press). His work has appeared in a variety of journals, including Stickman Review, Mocking Heart Review, Into the Void Magazine, and Dime Show Review. He lives in Lambertville, NJ.

Photographer’s Note: When I read this poem I thought of this photo. I love old buildings and barns that are falling down yet still somehow standing. This shack showed hints of past lives, a kind of archive.