To Unravel, to Shatter by Carolyn Adams

To Unravel, to Shatter

As I come to bury you,
to carry out that ritual,
I rehearse walking
into your empty house.

I prepare myself.

You’ll be everywhere,
in the stale air
of three days gone.

In this airport’s gray morning,
I’m alone at the gate,
hours from departure.
I arrived early.
To unravel, to shatter,
then to repair – this takes time.

Outside, dawn breaks
rising on the window wall.
The tree horizon slowly
gains color.

A plane that isn’t mine
waits on the tarmac.
Others lift into a
quiet mist. Passengers
drift from their seats.

I’m still here,
alone, for my turn.

*

Carolyn Adams’ poetry and art have appeared in Steam Ticket, Cimarron Review, Evening Street Review, Dissident Voice, and Blueline Magazine, among others. She is the editor and publisher of the Oregon Poetry Calendar. Having authored four chapbooks, her full-length volume, Going Out to Gather has been published by Fernwood Press. She has been nominated multiple times for both Best of the Net and a Pushcart prize.