SHARK REEF
A Publication of the Lopez Writers Guild
Vol. 2, No. 2
June 2002

Poetry

by Brooks

 

As If

in her sixth year
cabbage palms
and knife fights
replaced
long bike rides
and the neighbor's gift
of fresh baked cookies

this small foreigner
wanted only to go
home
where breathing never
had to be thought about
safety never discussed

in the night
two large men
with knife and fist
bound the pillow so
tight over her face
she was breathless
from terror
gasping and choking

like delicate parchment paper
ripped across rough boards
she worried
her shredded self
would be scattered
across her new summer sheets

her body
stayed together
only her
six year-old heart
was lost

hours later
she brushed her small teeth
already pretending
not even hinting
shame
had bullied its way
into that sweet place
they killed
while she was breathless

---

Sudden Stroke

had I known yesterday
how today
I would long for any part of any word
I would have sung three hosannas
after each syllable

had I known I would never again hear
from you
words that told
of your inner world
I would have memorized for us both
our private language of gestures

had I known the pattern of our dance
was so directed by words
I would have etched
our language
onto a wall of names
where we could have pointed to meaning

had I known
I would have to translate
the poetry in your eyes
into my own words
I would have long ago looked more deeply

had I known this could happen
to you who used words with Zen elegance
the map that led me to my own words
might have been lost

had I remembered
how quickly change takes its stance
I might have bargained with some god
stressing your goodness and gifts
offering to give up my own words
for yours

 

©2002 Brooks

 

Brooks arrived on the last ferry to Lopez Island September 11, 2001. That was her last cross-country move in this life. She writes, makes art, does ocean stuff, teaches classes and workshops, and flies among the islands doing emergency mental health evaluations. She walks on beaches and among tall trees, collects bones and rocks, and laughs a lot.

 

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