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Melissa E. Jordan
The Sedoka Interviews: Cycle 2
And what is life like since the incident; after being separated?
1.
sheets smelling of cream,
a tiny rose quartz fountain —
my two fixed points of rest.
a man ushers me
from bed to shower each day,
one hand bangelingling my wrist.
2.
on a snowy night
a bag boy’s mercy moves me —
the strength of doubled plastic
the crackle of sleet
hitting cellophane-sheathed books;
a librarian’s tired smile.
3.
I dump the ashtray
in the toilet down the hall,
twist the shower taps open.
ropes of water fall
on my unworthy shoulders.
benediction. that soft grace.
4.
four silver barrettes,
clipped to my last elastic,
like a warden’s keyring.
after weeding’s done
I form tiny chickweed wreaths;
marvel at the tensile coils.
5.
boarders slyly drop
guilty bottles from the roof,
chiming in the first warm nights.
sudden squeaks on rubber
as the late shift make their rounds;
bedsprings answer fretfully.
6.
night air turns softer,
basil grows in the window;
Evensong sieves through the screen.
on my way back from
church service each evening
frogs snap out like rubber bands.
About the writer:
Melissa E. Jordan lives in northwestern Connecticut. Her poetry collection, Bain-Marie (Big Wonderful Press) was published in 2015. Jordan’s poems have appeared or are forthcoming in The Cossack Review, Rat’s Ass Review, Word Riot, Otis Nebula, Terrain, Off the Coast, Squawk Back, and elsewhere.
Image: Mural in the Aragonese Center of Barcelona by Jorge Gay (1950- ). No medium specified. No size specified. 2020. By free license.
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