Andrea Carter Brown

           

To an Unknown Goddess

She of the missing digits, who cradles a handful
            of sheaves which lost their tassels
so long ago the broken stems flower with mildew

and algae; she whose helmet of neat banana curls
            is netted by spider webs, whose two
still perfect ears are stopped by fall’s drift and delicate

left nostril drips a dust strand with which the breeze
            toys; she, whose voluminous dolomitic
folds, tender inside of bent elbow, and flexed toes

are dirty for eternity, or at least until they crumble
            to grit, whose one bared breast is polished
by elements, her arched neck lovely, her open palms,

despite lacking fingers, relaxed; you, who cannot
            see or hear, touch or feel, are more
beautiful for being broken. Once children like us,

imperfect, flawed, were left on a mountain to die.
            Tell me, goddess, how we came to be
stranded here together on this Adirondack porch.

 

A Crash Course in Perspective

                        i

Babies stare at you. Toddlers too.
In the wheelchair you are just
another big head on a little body.
Eyes, meeting, do not blink.

                        ii

The elderly grin, approach, inquire
solicitously, listen, make comforting
sounds. Today they are walking, cause
enough, they know now, for rejoicing.
Tomorrow, well, you never know . . .

                        iii

The truly, that is to say permanently,
sometimes terribly, disabled offer,
if anything, the ghost of a smile,
a flicker of recognition. The way
relatives identify a beloved’s body
by the scar only they knew existed.

                        iv

How about the rest of us? We rush
to open doors, crack sick jokes or make
unintentionally callous, cruel comments,
If I were you I’d kill myself, and soon
as decency allows, hurry on newly
grateful, independent ways, crossing
fingers, toes, thanking our lucky stars.

read andrea's biography

RETURN TO ISSUE 3: JANUARY 2017