Andrea Potos
Late Autumn Crochet When asked again, I have to explainI’m not making anything. I am practicing unfurlingtangled skeins of incessant thoughtalong these lengthening rows of double-stitch crochetmy Yaya taught me forty years ago--shiningcopper hook in my right hand, and on my lap,russet-gold and dark teal, sage green and burgundy--gathered emblems of the season--what I need for bracingagainst the bitterness to come, a semblance of patternfor discarding shreds of worry, wrapping the hoursin some fashion of blessing and warmth.
This Brief DepartureFrom Our Days Fish Creek, Wisconsin Four rooms seton the slope abovethe world’s commerce. From inside these bordersof ochre pineand fireplace as furnace, a kitchen enough to hold two,and wrought-iron bedsteads with thickly-quilted spreads-- how easy to returnto a time of refugewhen I am not yet born.
When Beginning the Poem may there be a listeningrather than a making curiosity over expectation, lightness and ease,no strainingtoward some glut of air. May you step asidelike a watcher at the meadow’s edgeas the doefinds her way to the center.
Andrea Potos is the author of several poetry collections, including MOTHERSHELL (Kelsay Books), A STONE TO CARRY HOME (Salmon Poetry) and ARROWS OF LIGHT (Iris Press). A new collection MARROW OF SUMMER is forthcoming from Kelsay Books in the summer of 2021. Her poems appear widely in print and online.
This Brief DepartureFrom Our Days Fish Creek, Wisconsin Four rooms seton the slope abovethe world’s commerce. From inside these bordersof ochre pineand fireplace as furnace, a kitchen enough to hold two,and wrought-iron bedsteads with thickly-quilted spreads-- how easy to returnto a time of refugewhen I am not yet born.
When Beginning the Poem may there be a listeningrather than a making curiosity over expectation, lightness and ease,no strainingtoward some glut of air. May you step asidelike a watcher at the meadow’s edgeas the doefinds her way to the center.
Andrea Potos is the author of several poetry collections, including MOTHERSHELL (Kelsay Books), A STONE TO CARRY HOME (Salmon Poetry) and ARROWS OF LIGHT (Iris Press). A new collection MARROW OF SUMMER is forthcoming from Kelsay Books in the summer of 2021. Her poems appear widely in print and online.