WHAT YOU CAN’T SEE POETRY
Beyond the Bend
Going through life blind
I cannot see,
I walk as someone blind.
The future is uncertain,
and I’ve left the past behind.
My past, a certain darkness.
What comes, in shadows too.
I pray for light to guide me,
my cane, my only tool.
Lamplight throws the shadows
to the corners of the room.
Light enough to see my Now
but not enough to leave.
The long dimly-lit hall,
a long haul to what’s next
for this gray-haired girl
looking for a sunny meadow
and healing hot springs.
The future seems like a long haul,
but it is only steps away
to sunlit meadows,
hot springs,
and a nice hot cup of coffee.
Guatemalan course-ground
will remind me I’m still around.
Some chocolate and creamy ice cream.
A good book. Visits with friends.
Maybe the long haul
has a good end.
I am a coward.
The only good bend,
is the bend in
my elbow.
At least that is one I can see.
Not me.
I’m so thinned skinned
that I have to wear sweaters.
But I know
my back is bent.
Maybe that’s good
for hauling coffee
on the trip
to the light.
Nolcha Fox and Barbara Leonhard started collaborating after gremlins ate the attachments Nolcha sent to Barbara for her submission to MasticadoresUSA. Their first collaborative poem was about computer gremlins, naturally!