Stupid

How long does it take to fall 40 feet?

Surely no more than a few seconds,

but time enough to think that if you live

you’ll never do this again:

leap from a rock face into the ocean.

Time enough to tick off

every dumb move you’ve ever made:

the right turn into the rear bumper,

the glassy square of windowpane

on the quivering pink pads

of your tongue, the night you said yes

and let him bolt the door.

Each time you escaped.  Each time

you closed your eyes like a saint

before you hit the floor.

Bio: Dorianne Laux’s fourth book of poems, Facts about the Moon (W.W. Norton), is the recipient of the Oregon Book Award.  Laux is also author of Awake (1990) What We Carry (1994) and Smoke (2000) from BOA Editions, as well as Superman: The Chapbook (2008) and Dark Charms (2009) both from Red Dragonfly Press.  She teaches at North Carolina State University.