Issue 05
poetry
“Ad Infinitum”
by Michele Parker Randall
“Post” by Mara Katcher
for MHP
Picture grief a thing pulled from the heart like silk
squares never ending—red, blue, yellow, green—
flagging, the line
infinite.
The sensation, like a tug forward,
a sluggish leaving. An unraveling. Imagine
that grief being pulled from a person on a hill, gaze affixed
in one direction (not East nor West),
the motion, one hand over the other,
sparks us to touch our own heart
then move away.
Visible only to those who have
walked it, the spectacle plays on;
the wonder of it. How dare we look?
How can we not? Innumerable squares
live inside each one of us,
which leaves one, weighted question:
how long does this go on? A puzzle:
it does not get tangled up in power
lines, lifelines, tree lines. Grief flies
forth like a procession. And we follow.
*
Michele Parker Randall is the author of Museum of Everyday Life (Kelsay Books, 2015) and A Future Unmappable (Finishing Line Press, 2021). Her work can be found in Nimrod International Journal, Atlanta Review, Bellevue Literary Review, Tar River Poetry, and elsewhere. Follow her on Instagram at @micheleparkerrandall.
Mara Katcher was born and raised in Oklahoma. She is an alumni of Oklahoma State University with a degree in Creative Writing. She is hoping to soon start her journey as a professional writer and artist. Her areas of interest are poetry, prose, flash fiction, and photography. Follow her on Twitter at @mara_k_96.