Andrea Moorhead (4 poems)
Perambulations
She walked around the broken concrete
wires emerging with each step
the night glow caught in her lashes
as she threaded her way
avoiding the jagged glass, the twisted metal
signs still pulsating
under her eyes the last smudge of the night
Other Movements
Icons left in the attic haven’t any recourse
gold leaf flaking every night as they move around
the trunk doesn’t have any hinges and the night air is soft
legs and arms invisible, the face still rigid, eyes turned, lips closed,
but the wind stirs at night and the windows are cracked
someone saw a light rain the other night
something sweet and shining falling out the attic window
lips sealed eyes half-open and the rain never stopped and the dew rising
precluded any thought of going up on top.
Absorption
Simply lifting the stone isn’t enough
flowers bleed by the side of the road
caught in some unidentified vapor
while we walk on
moving slowly into the rain.
Ontario Lakes, 1950
for RKM
Pickerel scales on the ground
the boat pulled up for the night
dreaming of past waters to the north
the sheen of early sun skittering against
dead spruce stumps, the water cool brown,
flowerless and pure,
we continue every day
hauling in and out the wooden,
the smooth and sleek, fleet and
languid boat of our dreams.
Andrea Moorhead, born in Buffalo, New York, is the publisher of the prestigious international magazine, Osiris. Her most recent book is The Carver's Dream (Red Dragon Fly Press). Her poems have appeared in journals such as Abraxas, Great River Review, The Bitter Oleander, Phoenix, Poetry Salzburg Review, and elsewhere.