Testament
(for political prisoners everywhere)
the phone call comes
when you least expect it
the phone call
the knock on the door
in the middle of the night
in the middle of the afternoon…
you knew it would come
but somehow
even though you prepared yourself
you are caught off-guard
—as they knew you would be–
you, watching the light filter through the window
as you think about the grocery list
or the suit that needs to be cleaned
the letters that must be typed “this afternoon”
for just a moment, you wonder
will the woman next door take in the kids
will the food stay fresh and for how long
what will your neighbors and co-workers think about
when they hear your name
but you can see
how some of them have turned away
already pretending that you haven’t been there
that last week you didn’t share a joke
on a sleepy afternoon
you think about these things
if only for a moment
—they never give you much time–
you turn your head for one more look
your eyes seeing everything and nothing
and then
locking your heart behind you
you go
Existential Apartment House
in this, colors are inscribed over each day
in this one, there are only coordinates for planting
a container of salt on a counter
a notebook with red binding
an image of a bodhisattva stares placidly into the far distance
one eye weeps
th susurring of car tiers on wet pavement
drifts through an open window
heavy-headed white flowers scatter petals
in a well-lighted room somewhere downstairs
cards are laid down and picked up again in silence
in the laundry room
the washers lift their unwieldy tongues
to gossip about towels and
the corridor lights stand sentry over emptiness
frayed edges of consciousness, something like blood on a cloth
nothing that makes much sense
can survive this kind of pressure
Michele A. Belluomini is a poet, storyteller and librarian. Her work has been published in journals such as The Mad Poets Review, Poetry Motel, American Writing, APR: Philly Edition, and most recently in the anthology COMMONWEALTH: Contemporary Poets on Pennsylvania. Her chapbook, Crazy Mary & Others won the |