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Four Last Things
I. When You See Her
Sailor, why turn back? What if she's waiting
for her lover long lost, or if she hopes
you'll be the one she comes home to? Straining
your eyes in search of a storm would serve
you better than skinning her, bone and nerve
laid bare for the sea birds to pick. Why veer
from dock and shore, waves and score of years
that she may spend alone? Sailor, be kind
and pay her no mind
when you see her.
II. When You See Me
Close the door, love, and shut your eyes. Try
to see what I am seeing. It's descending
like the dark, only faster, stronger
than life. Being here, stuck between drowning
and dancing, I'm far from where I was
and short of where you are. It's quiet. Why
didn't the lights go out when they wanted?
If we were dying now, who would cover us
with stones, or with wood? Listen, the water is
coming. No more. Close your eyes; shut the door.
III. When You See Us
There is music. There is world enough
and wind on the shallows of the sea
where the birds are drifting. For me, enough
is enough. Just to be in silence is
golden—like the sun, like the fish, like none
of this penance. There is time enough
to know that we are broken, and now this
shows how this
is now.
IV. When You Don't
I buy sapphire plums. I drink all night
with the dead. I sing lower than even
you can, and I walk the flooded land
in your stead. When you're gone, left and right
are not. I write until my shaking hands
are still, and the ocean does my will
before the wind's. I speak the seven
names of an unknown god. Your eyes fill
the shallows. I see you.
Go home now.
Adrienne J. Odasso is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the University of York (UK) English Department. Her poetry has appeared in Strong Verse, Aesthetica, Hum-Drum, and Succour magazines. Her short fiction has appeared in Issue #2 of Behind the Wainscot and in the recently released Ruins Terra anthology from Hadley Rille Books. New poetry currently appears in Sybil's Garage No. 5 and will be appearing in the upcoming Little Red Riding Hood anthology from Drollerie Press. She was also Guest-Editor for Behind the Wainscot 6
copyright © 2008, Adrienne J. Odasso
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CONTENTS
FICTION
—Shadows in My Mind
S.C. BRYCE
—All Roads Are One
DEENA FISHER
—Three Views of the Maiden in Peril
CATHERINE LUNDOFF
—She Has a Nice Personality
E.C. MYERS
—Running the Road
NANCY JANE MOORE
—Flowertongue
JESSICA REISMAN
POETRY
—Cold Covers
ADRIENNE J. ODASSO
—Four Last Things
ADRIENNE J. ODASSO
—Bog
KRISTINE ONG MUSLIM
—Stealing Bodies
KRISTINE ONG MUSLIM
NONFICTION
—Archetypical Metafiction: Scrutinizing Fallen Archetypes
TOIYA KRISTEN FINLEY
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