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:
- Robert Burns: I’ll Aye Ca’ In By Yon Town:
- Will Remain Unseen by Vasil Slavov
- Europe, the 72d and 73d years of These States. by Walt Whitman
- Think of the Soul. by Walt Whitman
- what a poet must do by Raj Arumugam
- Contradictions poem – Amy Levy poems | Poems and Poetry
- Baby Charley. by Sidney Lanier
- Epigram on Miss Fontenelle by Robert Burns
- A kiss to the ground by Victoria Rose
- Олег Григорьев – Конфеты
- Robert Burns: This Is No My Ain Lassie:
- The Garden By Moonlight poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Your Poems on My Patio by Martina Reisz Newberry
- Stopped Dead by Sylvia Plath
- Tim Turpin by Thomas Hood
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
- Makers And Creatures by Vernon Scannell
- Love thy Country and Do a useful Act – Gurazada by Vijay Narayana Chilaka
- Lesson In Grammar by Vernon Scannell
- Juan In Middle Age by Vernon Scannell
- Incendiary by Vernon Scannell
- Human Instrument by Victoria Bukofske
- Early Morning by Victoria Bukofske
- Death In The Lounge Bar by Vernon Scannell
- Ageing Schoolmaster by Vernon Scannell
- A sinners prayer by Victoria Rose
- A quiet storm by Victor A. Bueno M.
- A poodle and a hound by Victoria Rose
- A kiss to the ground by Victoria Rose
- A City Remembered by Vernon Scannell
- A Case Of Murder by Vernon Scannell
- Song IX: Ho Ye Who Seek Saving by William Morris
- Song IV: Draw Near and Behold Me by William Morris
- Song III: It Grew Up Without Heeding by William Morris
- Song II: Have No Thought for Tomorrow by William Morris
- Song I: Though the World Be A-Waning by William Morris
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
