Old Building

In this stairwell
light is water

pouring from a glass Niagara
sheening down handrails
into a boxy valley

it cascades
around shadows
splashes off posts
and doorknobs
spills across a landing

I tread lightly here
keep shoes dry
on the dark non-slip
of days

enter sub-surface
filtering ripples
from a vaulted ceiling

down there
are dark rooms
their dry secrets


Dick Alderson (Western Australia)

From The Astronomer's Wife (Sunline Press 2014)