I Can Imagine
That Jason and Medea settled down
together in old age. That they hung pictures
of their dead children on the Christmas tree.
The murder was so long ago, it must
have seemed like something that they did together.
Best to forgive all round, remember only
their early love and travels, and forget
betrayals once committed in hot blood.
I can imagine Adam telling Eve
he wished that they’d had girls – so much less trouble,
as they retired to their respective beds.
I can imagine Mary Magdalene
wondering why His mother never liked her,
even as tongues of fire danced on their heads.
The Innocent
We’ve taken refuge here, half underground,
hoping our breath and heartbeats make no sound
to trace us by. I can’t afford to care
what happens to the other ones out there,
what roll of rape and murder. I will die
for you if need be; meanwhile, please don’t cry;
your life’s at stake. Neither of us is old,
but we’re a story that’s already told
a thousand times. I’ve sheltered here before,
hiding you in a shawl. And there are more
like you and me. I don’t foresee the day
when Caesar’s world dries up and blows away.
Such an old story: Mothers, children, fear.
They sound so close behind us. Please, not here.
The Old Dame Looks Ahead
My mad computer’s gone berserk again,
spewing out incoherent words, and I,
having no grandkids, now must borrow one
from someone else. Because the old no longer
guard the collected wisdom of the tribe;
now it’s the young, siphoning lore from iphones,
who fend disaster off, who fight the gods
and demons for us. My day is done, I know.
The polar ice cap’s melting, so I can’t
be shifted to an iceberg to drift toward death
(one point for being childless). Soon enough
I’ll pack a suitcase, leave behind for good
a world whose music I no longer hear,
machines that I can’t use, and end my days
parking at random, living in my car,
dispensing wisdom from a jelly jar.
Gail White is a contributing editor to Light Poetry Magazine. Her own poetry has appeared in many journals and anthologies, including Nasty Women Poets, Love Poems at the Villa Nelle, and Killer Verse. Her latest chapbook, Paper Cuts, is just out from Kelsay Books. She lives in he Louisiana bayou country with her husband and cats.
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