stillness sighs
why why why
leaves start to gossip
____________________
water drips
from the inky sky
street lights leak onto the road
her tail a question
she meows at the door
_____________________
restless
a bell jingles
behind the curtains
I stare intently
into a cup of tea
With his words
he taints a spring day …
Leaf tips brown
on a plant half planted
slap dash.
His beloved ivy is killing the fig
and the cypress.
“Foul play” he declares
“Fred Flintstone,
the neighbour
is at it again!”
His eyes reptilian
snake into his wife’s …
her insides shake
while he rants …
“Just look,
you, you notice nothing!”
An intake of breath,
He’s coming over and poisoning
my garden”another intake of air,
“I’ll catch him one day
and then everyone will believe me,”
and the ivy continues to creep,
strangling all in its wake.
Laptop open
he taps his phone
screen saver blinks
he strokes
a hollow surface
a slight
eye contraction
a twitch
or a wink
faked
plump words link
piling together
unpacking
a thick wink’s
knowing
blinking
he rubs
a fingertip
over the corner
of his eye
because
the person beside you
has no idea the words
on the screen
are from you
Riffin’ on a thick description is a homage to Clifford Geertz, an anthropologist who took the art and craft of writing observations very seriously.
Marousia 