Art: “Ton hombre reste en moi” (“Shadow remains in me”) by Cyril Larvor aka Blackbird
STRAITS OF BIRTHDAYS
Given an unknown
reservoir
of time, measuring
mist both fore and aft
I dawdle
rather than
choosing to arrange
one more pattern
of shells
or cast more nets
or set sail yet again
whether satisfying
or not, cut with pain
or not, indifferent
or not, lost or not. I choose to drift.
This day
then tomorrow
slithers
quick as an eel
over yesterday’s
skeletal shadow. I choose to swim.
Today demands
a recount
a flowing forth
of allotted
years: dozens
of months lost
to a hoard of
inchoate yearnings—
winters collect like
barnacles on my back. I choose to dive.
About the author:
Judith Cody’s poetry is published in over 110 journals, has won many national awards, and one of her poems was chosen for the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution. Her poetry chapbook was a finalist in Bright Hills Press’s national competition. She edited the PEN Oakland anthology Fightin’ Words.
Art:
“Ton hombre reste en moi” (“Shadow remains in me”) by Cyril Larvor aka Blackbird, Paris, France, @cyrillarvor.