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​Off balance~ By Lillo Way

12/27/2016

2 Comments

 
I was that kid
 
who stumbled over mourning doves hidden
                                    beneath unpruned Chinese yews 
                        over pet rat Charles   over the damp summer
                                                hump in the carpet
 
who stumbled through scales in third-grade chorus
                                                            was asked to mouth the words
            and never told my proud parents as I stumbled after them
                                                                        my shoes eating my socks heel first.
 
I was the one
 
who stumbled over my lines after Kenny forgot his
                                                and one by one the whole cast followed suit
            until we realized we’d just skipped the entire second act
 
who was wise enough at my wedding not to risk
                                                            walking down an aisle
                        but not wise enough to choose a fitting groom
 
who stumbled at the cemetery my hand full of earth
                                    and was grateful beyond expression
                                                not to have fallen in with my mother.
 
Then I stumbled
 
into you one Christmas Eve   knocked the cup of sorrows
                                                                        out of your hand  
            and threw your arms around me for the rest
                                                            of my bumbling life.
​
 
Author Bio:
Lillo Way's poems have appeared or are forthcoming in New Orleans Review, Poet Lore, Tampa Review, Tar River Poetry, Madison Review, The Sow’s Ear Poetry Review, Poetry East, Yemassee, Santa Fe Literary Review, among others. Seven of Way's poems are included in anthologies. Her full-length manuscript, “Wingbone,” was a finalist for the 2015 Barry Spacks Poetry Prize from Gunpowder Press.
2 Comments
Janine
1/3/2017 03:10:04 am

I loved this poem, the layout and the rhythm. Thank you for sharing it.

Reply
Joseph Zaccardi link
7/28/2017 07:29:56 pm

Just read your poem "Frame the Moon " in Tar River Review. I just love your language especially "...the half-moon/mullioned and mustiness" Ten Thousand Cheers!

Reply



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