"Perfect" by Peter Leight

Perfect

Except for the conflicts that remain unresolved and the debts that aren’t repaid, adding interest to the principal, which only makes it more unlikely, except for the cool reception when the waves are elevated along with the redundancy in the systems that leads to shrinkage and shuttering, which only increases the interference, except for the precautions that haven’t even been taken, except for the faulty intonation that’s not that far off, combined with a glitch in the timing that only amounts to a whisker of a beat, it’s hardly even noticeable, we’re not shedding any tears, except for the leaks around the edges where the systems degrade in spite of the redundancies, which makes it more difficult to identify the weaknesses, except for the white cloths waving in the wind and the colored cloths scattered on the ground, waiting to be picked up, except for the spotty enforcement, together with the erosion of trust, that even from the beginning wasn’t meant to last, except for the coppery iridescent beetles making delicate patterns in the leaves like lacemakers ruining their eyes in Belgium, today was just about perfect.

Peter leight

Peter Leight lives in Amherst, Massachusetts. He has previously published poems in Paris Review, AGNI, Antioch Review, Beloit Poetry Journal, FIELD, Matter, and other magazines.

Headshot: Margaret Bruzelius

Photo Credit: Staff