The Sand Hill Review               http://www.sandhillreview.org 2010

Unrest

A different time then.

The alphabet skirt a circle to hem

journey of three yards at least.

No one helped her.

She lacked the simple refuge

of a child in her mother

Who late one night appeared

a wraith in the doorway.

Stand straight, the mother said.

So chided, the girl tried standing

with a broomstick down her back.

House on fire, floors sliding.

Emerald was the birthstone.

Gripped by fear, she did not give.

Had she injured the bird?

Figures kept coming at the walls.

She could not stop them.

Amulet made of silver and shells

some kind of promise.

Use death as a driver, he said.

Give things away.

Loquat leaves new green, and dark

leaves splashed white with sun.

If you cherish one thing

you can love others.

Meredith Ittner