Erica Fletcher
There Are So Many Things

There are so many things I have to share
with you these tiny moments of city life crackle
with whatever force makes the world
sweeter & hotter when I think of you

We pulled plastic sleds to the park
I stood around like a grownup
the children skidded down & came to rest
lay listless talking kid-talk
watching the dog walkers walk

On the hill an oriole nest hanging pendulous
from a bare sugar maple
downy soft sack cradling new life
on last year's egg-shards
a private feather-lined womb

On the way home
we met a bat-faced terrier named Herbie Hancock
his owner had a big broad Boston accent
everyone is friendly
when it's warm in February

Listen.
The crabapple tree on the corner teems with robins
The witch hazel clouding up the Fens is turned on
The willows are considering popping out their tiny green tongues

Come home and run your fingers down my bare back
just out of the shower
there are so many things I have to share
with you

<< return to the Table of Contents for New Series #10: Winter 2020, Volume 5 Number 2