day six

prompt - write a poem about something missing. It can be about an actual physical object or something you just can't put your finger on (like "love" or "the spirit of Christmas" or something).


a matter of distance

once, there were two
i found them on a dusty shelf
elegant, waiting for me
who else would want them?
two brass herons, for a pound

i took them home
they stood on the corner
of the walnut bookcase
shiny, yellow brass
against the dark wood

now there is one
tall, polished, brass heron
alone on the shelf
of the dark wood bookcase
in the shadowy hall

the other, the missing...
at home in another place
with a different time
how many years did they share
side by side

Copyright © 2009 by Eryll Oellermann