All Day Long
A poem by Rachel Pesavento Brownell

All Day Long

the Mar Vista stairs
host a silent procession
of men and women, a single-file line
of humans moving up and down the flat stone faces

as if veils drag
behind their bodies, covering
and uncovering the long length of stairs,
turning this site into a solemn, endless wedding.

No one says anything; 
there is only the short, hot
acoustics of exhaled breath, matching
the unheard music of heavily pumping hearts,
and the clouds all gather
to watch, withholding rain until
the grand finale, when the sun and earth may kiss,
and all the men and women and all their steps slowly cease,

leaving the Mar Vista stairs empty.

About the Author:

Rachel Pesavento Brownell lives in Long Beach, where she attended Long Beach State University’s MFA program and ran the program’s literary magazine. She has worked in publishing since then, and her poems have appeared in Foothill Poetry Journal, miniskirt magazine, and RipRap.

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