Doubt
Forgive me;
for when I touched flame
to char-black wick, when I smoothed
the blunted edge of the knife
across the whetstone,
you must know,
it was my sister’s uncertainties
chirruping in my ear.
For when I first glimpsed you
for who you truly are,
lids caressing
your eyes in deepest sleep,
mouth
hearted
in a perfect bow, tall white feathers
arcing
back on themselves to kiss
your cheekbones,
I couldn’t help myself—I stumbled;
I fell.
And as the hot oil
warbled
out of the open mouth of my lamp
to land on your unblemished shoulder, it formed
a perfect circle:
the red & fluid blister of the pomegranate.
No wonder you
flew directly through
the window of our marriage.
Invocation
Leaves have already begun their turning, wasps
prisoned in fingers of deadened grass. This autumn
burns brittle, as though it might crack
on the breeze. There was a time
when I would have clung
like soft moss in the footholds
of these trees; there was a time when lushness
filled every field, every branch, & bed. Now all
would be silent if it weren’t for the birds trilling
about migration. Break this mirror
open, scatter these thoughts among its
shards; wisdom is only found
at the center—let ripened seeds
burst from leather.
Evocation
How long did it take
to
strip
the ocean’s salt
from his skin,
turn his tide to your
beguiling
eyes?
For seven years you
let the sun
set fire
to you both,
let his tongue
taste
the sea of you, led
his hands
to roam your
hills, let him find himself
lost
in the island
of you, until.
Until.
I know what it is to watch a man leave
for another shore, the wind fattening his sails.
I know what it is to build his raft.
Tara A. Elliott’s poems have appeared or are forthcoming in 32 Poems, Ninth Letter, Cumberland River Review, Cimarron Review, and Birmingham Poetry Review, among others. An award-winning poet and educator, she serves as Executive Director of the Eastern Shore Writers Association (ESWA), and chair of the Bay to Ocean Writers Conference. A former student of Lucille Clifton, she has been awarded numerous honors and grants, including the Christine D. Sarbanes Award from MD Humanities. The Light of Literacy Award from Wicomico County Public Libraries, and Maryland State Arts Council’s Independent Artist Award.