Birdsong

Katrina Kaye

inspired by 1984

A thrush
alight on bough
in the sun

spread wings
then flit them carefully
into place

duck head
an obeisance to the sky
then pour forth
a torrent of song
startling

the bird shows
of its virtuosity
on and on
minute by minute

stops
spread and resettle wings
swell speckled breast
burst again

for whom?
for what?

No mate,
no rival watches,
lonely wood
pouring song
into the nothingness

mixes with
sunlight filtered
through leaves

stop thinking
merely feel

“Birdsong” is previously published on Rabbits for Luck (2016).

Bath water

Katrina Kaye

She turns,
belly to porcelain,
white to white.
The bath water turns cold.

She hears him playing.
The gentle rhythm
of childish laughter,
echoing down the hall.
She shivers.

Her eyes turn inward.
With slippery fingers,
she grasps the side of the tub,
and sinks under water,
but still she can hear him.

Only an apparition come
to tease a lonely woman.
She never wanted much
other than to hear the sound
of her boy’s laughter.

Her hair halos her face
in a cloud of chestnut.
Just a sliver of nose and lips,
resting on the surface.

She sips in humid air.
The laughter evaporates.
Eyes open underwater,
The world is blurred.
The sounds of childhood
faded.

“Bath water” is previously published in A Scattering of Imperfections (2009).

Katrina Kaye

Silence sat
on the
corner of
cheekbone
and 12th.

She goes
unnoticed,
defies the wind,
flits the skin,
begs recognition.

It is the same
silence that
barricades the
veins with
over sized
platelets causing
the heart
to cease
a beat.

Creating a
moment
of complete
stillness between
our bodies until
with the
tip of finger

eyelash is
removed
and with
pursed lips,
blown away.

“Silence” is previously published in To Anyone Who Has Ever Loved a Writer (2014).