The surreptitious climbing
Bringing you to the top
Of the glass table
In our post-divorce townhouse kitchen
Where you smashed the blue ceramic bowl
I treasured above all material things.
We both froze when it shattered,
And after a pained gasp,
I cried and cried,
Not thinking to lift you
Off the table.
You sat cross-legged and stranded,
Taking the bowl’s place as a centerpiece,
And you cried and cried,
Not anticipating
The awful wails
From your mother’s gutters.
Our kitchen was full of weeping,
And we yearned for unnamed things.
My precious rage wanted
To clutch and grasp, and make you understand
What I had lost because of you.
But the way you shook
With the pulse of your sobs,
I knew you knew.
Bursting
___
The Poet: Cari Oleskewicz is a freelance writer and blogger living in Tampa, Florida. Her work has been published in The Washington Post, Imitation Fruit Literary Journal, Epiphany Magazine, Sasee Magazine and Pork & Gin. Her poem, "The Day of the Winds" recently took first place in the Platform Art poetry contest. When she am not reading or writing, she can be found chasing her seven-year-old and debating politics.
The Artist: Riya Aarini is an avid photographer and writer. She lives in the Midwest, where the variegated seasons offer much unique material to capture digitally. Riya enjoys the theater, where characters drown in sorrow and distress and become elated with pleasure and happiness.
The Artist: Riya Aarini is an avid photographer and writer. She lives in the Midwest, where the variegated seasons offer much unique material to capture digitally. Riya enjoys the theater, where characters drown in sorrow and distress and become elated with pleasure and happiness.
