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:
- Вера Павлова – Плачу, потому что не можешь со мной жить
- In Memoriam
- Николай Карамзин – Из письма к И. И. Дмитриеву (Но что же скажем мы о времени прошедшем)
- Валерий Брюсов – Фонарики
- You are coming! by Preeth Nambiar
- Юлия Жадовская – Да, я вижу
- Hymn Before Action by Rudyard Kipling
- Sonnet 103: Alack, what poverty my Muse brings forth by William Shakespeare
- Николай Гумилев – Злобный гений, царь сомнений
- The Call To Arms In Our Street by Winifred Mary Letts
- Power Of Love by Valentine Mbagu
- Василий Жуковский – Эолова арфа
- Владимир Маяковский – Про пешеходов и разинь, вонзивших глазки небу в синь
- Inscription to Chloris by Robert Burns
- София Парнок – Кипящий звук неторопливых арб
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
- The Methodist by Thomas Chatterton
- The Death of Nicou by Thomas Chatterton
- The Copernican System by Thomas Chatterton
- The Advice by Thomas Chatterton
- Song from Aella by Thomas Chatterton
- Sly Dick by Thomas Chatterton
- Narva and Mored by Thomas Chatterton
- Heccar and Gaira by Thomas Chatterton
- February by Thomas Chatterton
- Eclogues by Thomas Chatterton
- Colin Instructed by Thomas Chatterton
- An Excelente Balade of Charitie: As Wroten bie the Gode Pri by Thomas Chatterton
- A New Song by Thomas Chatterton
- A Hymn for Christmas Day by Thomas Chatterton
- The Spring by Thomas Carew
- The Primrose by Thomas Carew
- Song. Murdering Beauty by Thomas Carew
- Song. Mediocrity in love rejected. by Thomas Carew
- Song. Good Counsel to a Young Maid by Thomas Carew
- Song: Eternity of Love Protested by Thomas Carew
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
