Cameron Brooks

Lucifactions

After Corridor of Dreams by The Cleaners From Venus

This wistful beach-pop ballad
taints my view of the burgundy
roses blooming outside our bedroom,
while the kaleidoscopic shadows

on this green duvet now slink
as lucifactions of the sea,
sinking a bloated dwarf star
beneath its impassive rim.

The saccharine synthesizers,
the wet mix of reverb and chorus
pedal on a crisp guitar riff: suddenly
Summer is ending in a flurry of gulls.

The beach stands mute,
save for a young couple
pacing the shore,
facing one another.

He apologizes over the guttural
surf, reaches for her hands.

She shakes her head, turns
her face to the horizon:

It’s too late, it’s too late,
there’s not enough time
.

Author Reading

Corridor of Dreams by The Cleaners From Venus

About the Author

Cameron Brooks is an MFA candidate at Seattle Pacific University. His poems have appeared or will soon appear in Poetry East, Third Wednesday, North Dakota Quarterly, Ekstasis Magazine, Pasque Petals, Ad Fontes Journal, and elsewhere. Cameron lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.