I watched the froth go down and the yellow liquid rise to meet it. I twisted the glass around and it tipped over and spilled on his arthritic knee. I looked to the side and didn’t apologize. His beautiful bony fingers flicked off the foam in separate particles as if it was incidental lint he had finally noticed.
The decision is yours now.
He rubbed the liquid into his pant leg. I sighed. Either decision I make will kill something.
And so, you want to hang in this ether land forever?
Yes.
And if I pulled your hair?
And if I scalded your mouth?
And if I made a teepee of birch billets with you in the centre?
Look at me.
No.
He went away.
Next night the phone rang.
I’ll meet you at Glacier and First Point. You must be exact.
I’ll be there for three evenings.
For three nights I wore myself ragged but couldn’t find where.
Friday evening the doorbell rang. He handed me two books by Aksel Sandemose. I put my fingers exactly where his warm fingerprints still lingered on the top book and closed the door. I read and waited.
(There was a tidal wave and a woman went from window to window with a candle in her hand as her house floated out the bay. They rescued her in St. Lawrence.)
When you are ready, if ever, light your own candle.
Two years later, my hand shook as I held the match. His hair had greyed around the temples and he crippled shyly.
Five years later, two babies look hauntingly like him. He is chopping wood in the backyard. He stops.
Look at me. I fooled you years ago. Glacier is in Iceland and I tore out all the pages where it was written in that book. Do you regret that we called the babies Abstract and Zero? Come feel Aunt Hilda and Didymus under my fingernails.
His gentle laugh ripped the night sky, and I got pregnant again.
Copyright ©:
Agnes Walsh
A few random poems:
- The Golden Year! poem – Alfred Austin
- Epistle II: To A Lady (Of the Characters of Women) poem – Alexander Pope
- Winter Promises by Marge Piercy
- A Thanksgiving to God for His House by Robert Herrick
- The Nautical Why poem – Amy Nawrocki poems | Poems and Poetry
- Her smile by Vladimir Marku
- Love’s Fitfulness poem – Alfred Austin
- Don039t Lose Hope
- Attention please! Attention please! by Roald Dahl
- Вероника Тушнова – Я стою у открытой двери
- Jerusalem Delivered – Book 06 – part 05 by Torquato Tasso
- When Smoke Stood Up From Ludlow poem – A. E. Housman
- Remorseful Apology by Robert Burns
- Leaves A-Vallèn by William Barnes
- Love And Madness by Thomas Campbell
External links
Bat’s Poetry Page – more poetry by Fledermaus
Talking Writing Monster’s Page –
Batty Writing – the bat’s idle chatter, thoughts, ideas and observations, all original, all fresh
Poems in English
- Welcome A.O.H. Men by Michael McGovern
- Weekend Glory by Maya Angelou
- Twilight Acts of Decadence. by Michael Levy
- Travel to Infinite Places by Michael Levy
- To A Cricket by Michael McGovern
- The Woods At Night by May Swenson
- The Waradgery Tribe by Mary Gilmore
- The Rock Cries Out to Us Today by Maya Angelou
- The Passing of Stumpy Shore by Mervyn John Webster
- The Mothering Blackness by Maya Angelou
- The Meaning of Music by Mercedes Madrigal
- The Lesson by Maya Angelou
- The January Birds by Maurice Riordan
- The Hermit Goes Up Attic by Maxine Kumin
- The Gravy Train by Michael Levy
- The Fishermen, The Gulls & The Bible People by Michael Estabrook
- The First Thrush by Mary Gilmore
- The Fairies Break Their Dances by A. E. Housman
- The Burning Crusade by Memphis Knight
- The Rolling Mills by Michael McGovern
More external links (open in a new tab):
Doska or the Board – write anything
Search engines:
Yandex – the best search engine for searches in Russian (and the best overall image search engine, in any language, anywhere)
Qwant – the best search engine for searches in French, German as well as Romance and Germanic languages.
Ecosia – a search engine that supposedly… plants trees
Duckduckgo – the real alternative and a search engine that actually works. Without much censorship or partisan politics.
Yahoo– yes, it’s still around, amazingly, miraculously, incredibly, but now it seems to be powered by Bing.
Parallel Translations of Poetry
The Poetry Repository – an online library of poems, poetry, verse and poetic works
