Jessica
“Cemetery in Malvern” by Douglas Shaver, used via Read Write Poem
Living in Minneapolis Without Faces
You know night lasts for months here.
Even without eyes, you see
blue twilight extending for days before
you plunge into darkness. The trick
is to find, before first frost, a person
you don’t mind sitting with, in the dark.
You will spend weeks exploring each other’s
faces, tracing fingertips across
the smooth expanse of skin where
mouths, noses, and eyebrows used to be.
It gets so cold here, extremities freeze.
Fingers numb, even as they continue
to touch, probe, scratch. Spending time
pressing the same slate of skin, you will
forget the tender pressures, the kindness of early winter.
What else is there to do? You will draw blood,
just as the ice on the lake cracks and splits.
You will ask how your hands got so sticky.
After this happens, remember you weren’t always
so anonymous. Once, you didn’t feel so cold.
This poem is part of the Read Write Image prompt, over at Read Write Poem. I tried writing this poem for the previous week’s prompt, and just couldn’t hack it. I’m glad that this picture, with the blurred faces, helped me to find the central image.
Check out everyone else’s results!
