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:
- Юлиан Анисимов – Из Рильке
- Mending Socks by Martin Willitts Jr.
- Prayer—O Thou Dread Power by Robert Burns
- British Freedom by William Wordsworth
- A Lady poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- On the Idle Hill of Summer poem – A. E. Housman
- twinkletoes.html
- Swing Shift Blues
- Epitaph on Holy Willie by Robert Burns
- Ольга Ермолаева – Мир неприбран, подозрителен
- Огюст Барбье – Джин
- A Time to Talk by Robert Frost
- If Only by Mary Etta Metcalf
- Владимир Британишский – Можга
- Don’t Disappear by Roberto Cocina
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
- A Song of Enchantment by Walter de la Mare
- Nicholas Nye by Walter de la Mare
- Napoleon by Walter de la Mare
- Arabia by Walter de la Mare
- An Epitaph by Walter de la Mare
- To His Love When He Had Obtained Her by Sir Walter Raleigh
- To a Lady with an Unruly and Ill-mannered Dog Who Bit several Persons of Importance by Sir Walter Raleigh
- The Silent Lover ii by Sir Walter Raleigh
- The Silent Lover i by Sir Walter Raleigh
- The Nymph’s Reply To The Shepherd by Sir Walter Raleigh
- The Lie by Sir Walter Raleigh
- The Conclusion by Sir Walter Raleigh
- The Artist by Sir Walter Raleigh
- Stans Puer ad Mensam by Sir Walter Raleigh
- Song of Myself by Sir Walter Raleigh
- Sestina Otiosa by Sir Walter Raleigh
- Now What Is Love by Sir Walter Raleigh
- On Being Challenged to Write an Epigram in the Manner of Herrick by Sir Walter Raleigh
- Nature that Washed Her Hands in Milk by Sir Walter Raleigh
- My Last Will by Sir Walter Raleigh
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
