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 Iliad: Book VI (excerpt) poem – Alexander Pope
- Какой ты сегодня взволнованный
- Bitterness by Philip Levine
- On The Move ‘Man, You Gotta Go. by Thom Gunn
- Владимир Маяковский – Для Донбасса формируется поезд с подарками (РОСТА №938)
- Unstitching by Satish Verma
- The Music O’ The Dead by William Barnes
- In The Valley Of The Elwy poem – Gerard Manley Hopkins poems
- Impromptu on Mrs. Riddell’s Birthday by Robert Burns
- A Point Of Honour poem – Alfred Austin
- Berket And The Stars by William Carlos Williams
- Winter – The Fourth Pastoral, or Daphne poem – Alexander Pope
- Sound And Sense poem – Alexander Pope
- A Wintry Picture poem – Alfred Austin
- The Old Huntsman by Siegfried Sassoon
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
- Earthy Anecdote by Wallace Stevens
- A Dish Of Peaches In Russia by Wallace Stevens
- Depression Before Spring by Wallace Stevens
- A Clear Day And No Memories by Wallace Stevens
- In The Carolinas by Wallace Stevens
- Another Weeping Woman by Wallace Stevens
- Anecdote Of Canna by Wallace Stevens
- You Felons on Trial in Courts. by Walt Whitman
- Yet, Yet, Ye Downcast Hours. by Walt Whitman
- Years of the Modern. by Walt Whitman
- Year that Trembled. by Walt Whitman
- Year of Meteors, 1859 ’60. by Walt Whitman
- World, Take Good Notice. by Walt Whitman
- World Below the Brine, The. by Walt Whitman
- With Antecedents. by Walt Whitman
- With All Thy Gifts. by Walt Whitman
- Whoever You are, Holding Me now in Hand. by Walt Whitman
- Who Learns My Lesson Complete? by Walt Whitman
- Who is now Reading This? by Walt Whitman
- Whispers of Heavenly Death. by Walt Whitman
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
