Storm Cellar

This is one of the paradises

that we get to

by opening the blue-flaked door

and entering the earth,

by putting everything on hold

and saying I love you,

even as the battering rams

blow through our houses

and the malevolent rain

drills into the floor,

leaving us to stumble

into a second darkness,

where the white flowers

are stark as serpents,

and the root of grace

is nearer to our feet.

Seth Jani lives in Seattle, WA and is the founder of Seven CirclePress (www.sevencirclepress.com). Their work has appeared in The American Poetry Journal, Chiron Review, The Comstock Review, Ghost City Review, Rust+Moth and Pretty Owl Poetry, among others. Their full-length collection, Night Fable, was published by FutureCycle Press in 2018. Visit them at www.sethjani.com.