If There Is a Next Time
Next time I shall not wait
for the lion, nor be bruised
by exaltation. I shall be the stalker
of the female deer, my quiver full
of silver arrows glinting
in anticipation. At night
the owls will sit on my shoulder,
the moon itself will hide
behind poison clouds
of redemption.
There will be a feast
for the fallen, and manna
in the desert, multi-colored coats
for the undulating strays
to make them visible
from a great distance.
I’ll be the bridge
across the fiery cataclysm
and a light house for those
whose shadows disappeared
in the starless black of countless nights.
I’ll refurbish the house
of my fathers. No-one will be able
to enter without a password.
A German-born UK national, Rose Mary Boehm lives and works in Lima, Peru. Author of two novels and a poetry collection (Tangents), her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in US poetry reviews. Toe Good Poetry, Poetry Breakfast, Burning Word, Muddy River Review, Pale Horse Review, Pirene’s Fountain, Other Rooms, Requiem Magazine, Full of Crow, Poetry Quarterly, Punchnel’s, Avatar, Verse Wisconsin, Naugatuck River Review, Boston Literary, Red River Review, Ann Arbor, Main Street Rag, Misfit Magazine and others.
Next time I shall not wait
for the lion, nor be bruised
by exaltation. I shall be the stalker
of the female deer, my quiver full
of silver arrows glinting
in anticipation. At night
the owls will sit on my shoulder,
the moon itself will hide
behind poison clouds
of redemption.
There will be a feast
for the fallen, and manna
in the desert, multi-colored coats
for the undulating strays
to make them visible
from a great distance.
I’ll be the bridge
across the fiery cataclysm
and a light house for those
whose shadows disappeared
in the starless black of countless nights.
I’ll refurbish the house
of my fathers. No-one will be able
to enter without a password.
A German-born UK national, Rose Mary Boehm lives and works in Lima, Peru. Author of two novels and a poetry collection (Tangents), her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in US poetry reviews. Toe Good Poetry, Poetry Breakfast, Burning Word, Muddy River Review, Pale Horse Review, Pirene’s Fountain, Other Rooms, Requiem Magazine, Full of Crow, Poetry Quarterly, Punchnel’s, Avatar, Verse Wisconsin, Naugatuck River Review, Boston Literary, Red River Review, Ann Arbor, Main Street Rag, Misfit Magazine and others.