photo: ralph murre
Museum Skeleton
by Susan T. Moss
She
doesn’t say to shed
one’s
skin. She doesn’t say
to
burn brighter, work harder,
pray
more.
She
says nothing, stands erect,
raised
from another era
when
daily life had to be
gathered
by the handful,
protected
from others
who
only wanted their share
of
what became obsolete
and
unfathomable.
We
can see further,
collect
more, button ourselves
against
fierce winds that stir
what
she too
might
have felt on joyless nights
with
only a spark to reveal
the
insights we keep at arm’s length –
and
still the fear of the dark.
~
first published in After Hours
