"See Whether," "November," and "Pencil"

See Whether

Ask her if
She notices
The big blue shadow
Change the look of moon

The anyold​
Space between
Now and then
Now and again

 


 

November

I used to like to up-front differences

To iron them out

Now I’ve given that away

To cut my losses

 

On the sole melody we had in common versus

New harmonic breath

We catch, release, allow

To get away.

 

Love is less impossible

When I consign myself

To peace instead

Of smoothing wrongs.

 

How is it possible the sky

Can shine across the river

Anymore, the heart beat

Purely as the distance from a grave?

 


 

Pencil

Lead is soft

Page is soft

I write something

You may read

 

Another city

Full of windows

Means paintings

In the many minds

 

I practice being

Quiet by myself

With you away

From here

 

I hear speech

Invisible I indulge

In your language

Invincible

 

 

Sheila E. Murphy

Sheila E. Murphy. Poems have appeared in Poetry, Hanging Loose, Fortnightly Review, and numerous others. Most recent book: Permission to Relax (BlazeVOX Books, 2023). Received the Gertrude Stein Award for Letters to Unfinished J. (Green Integer Press, 2003). Murphy's book titled Reporting Live from You Know Where (2018) won the Hay(na)Ku Poetry Book Prize Competition from Meritage Press (U.S.A.) and xPress(ed) (Finland). 

Her Wikipedia page can be found at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheila_Murphy.

 

Edited for Unlikely by Jonathan Penton, Editor-in-Chief
Last revised on Monday, January 7, 2019 - 14:44