Five Poems by Andrea Potos

 

POEM TO 4:40 P.M. ON MARCH 20, 

Spring Equinox.

 

A moment of equanimity –

without strain or excess–

 

just the sun

crossing the celestial equator,

 

day and night like a scene 

painted by Vermeer–a balance held

 

in perfections of light and dark. Or,

like proverbial twins, each of them

 

finally content they are both

loved equally by their mother.  

 

 

WHEN MY MOTHER CALLED

in memory

 

It was always the same four words

to begin:  Hi, it’s Mom honey, 

as if I could ever not recognize 

tenderness when it arrived,

the well of kindness in a voice. 

And the conversations 

that might follow:  what did you think 

of that article?  How is the new coat working out?

Oh you looked so beautiful!  

I am loving your book, 

I need to get groceries today.

I’ve been thinking of when you were young, and all

those years with your father, how sorry I am

I was so distracted by sadness then.

What time are you picking me up tomorrow?

I’ll be waiting at the living room window;

no, that’s okay, no need to get out of the car,

I’ll be there, looking for you honey, always.

 

 

On Dreams

 

They crowd in,

hogging all the room in my sleep,

not life-altering or technicolour

like you read about in inspirational memoirs--

more like busted puzzle pieces,

or wrappers tossed from open car windows

to flitter across the roads,

or jumble sales in church basements

where it is upstairs that Light

burns through the magnificent windows.  

 

(first published in Her Joy Becomes (Fernwood Press)

 

After Not Being Chosen to Read

at the Emily Dickinson Event

 

No matter, I remain

Nobody

for now, 

passed over--

 

But isn’t there still singing from the cherrywood desk?

(first published in Her Joy Becomes (Fernwood Press)

 

Three Acorns from Emily’s Yard

 

I pocketed them that day

the tour guide was not looking.

 

I nodded to myself that she

would not mind for me to hold

 

in my palm and carry home

such Possibility.  

 

(first published in Her Joy Becomes (Fernwood Press)

Andrea Potos is the author of several collections of poetry, most recently Her Joy Becomes (Fernwood Press), Marrow of Summer (Kelsay Books), and Mothershell (Kelsay Books).  You can find my poems most recently in The Sun, Poetry East, Potomac Review, Braided Way, and The Sunlight Press.