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:
- Synge’s Grave by Winifred Mary Letts
- The Net Of Memory
- Moonlit Night by Tu Fu
- Sonnet 95: How sweet and lovely dost thou make the shame by William Shakespeare
- Владимир Орлов – Очень хорошая девочка Яна
- Владимир Британишский – Из рассказов отца
- Юлия Жадовская – Ах, бабушкин сад
- O, Were I Loved As I Desire To Be! poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- His Dream by William Butler Yeats
- Кондратий Рылеев – К Фролову
- Of Love and All by Raja Mannar
- Dropping Truth on That Pretty Little Head by Rob Leatherman Sr.
- Владимир Корнилов – Двое
- The Infernal Regions
- Don’t Tell Anyone by Tony Hoagland
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
- Robert Burns: Lines On The Commemoration Of Rodney’s Victory:
- Robert Burns: Thanksgiving For A National Victory:
- Robert Burns: Lines Inscribed In A Lady’s Pocket Almanac:
- Robert Burns: On Commissary Goldie’s Brains:
- Robert Burns: The True Loyal Natives:
- Robert Burns: The Soldier’s Return:
- Robert Burns: Meg O’ The Mill : Another Version
- Robert Burns: Meg O’ The Mill:
- Robert Burns: Lovely Young Jessie:
- Robert Burns: Lord Gregory:
- Robert Burns: Open The Door To Me, Oh:
- Robert Burns: Wandering Willie: Revised Version
- Robert Burns: Wandering Willie: First Version
- Robert Burns: Sonnet Written On The Author’s Birthday, : On hearing a Thrush sing in his Morning Walk.
- Robert Burns: Braw Lads O’ Galla Water:
- Robert Burns: On Politics:
- Robert Burns: Poortith Cauld And Restless Love:
- Robert Burns: A Tippling Ballad: On the Duke of Brunswick’s Breaking up his Camp, and the defeat of the Austrians, by Dumourier, November 1792.
- Robert Burns: Here’s A Health To Them That’s Awa:
- Robert Burns: Duncan Gray:
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
