POETRY
after the shipwreck
by Michaela A. Gabriel
the mad storm, the quaking of our land,
my gap-toothed words rain down on us, and
the shards of me that you so gingerly pick up,
could be rearranged into more than one story.
it could go like this: once upon a time,
between two sheets, limbs danced until
the day of the hunter, the night of the stag.
a rustle, mad eyes: how quickly tides turn.
another tale could be that of a man who
craves pomegranates, bleeds pools of ruby
onto the landscape of his love. and she rises,
walks away, uncertain if she will look back.
my favourite version begins — listen: one day
in the wake of a blood red sun, a woman
will be washed ashore, shedding scales,
her eyes the colour of newly calm oceans,
hair dripping slender rivulets into sand,
shallow lakes for her words to swim in.
she will grow legs as strong as rivers, hold
her head so high she'll have no need to fly.
Michaela A. Gabriel (*1971) lives in Vienna, Austria, where she assists adults in acquiring computer and English skills, and gets together with the muse as often as possible. She has been published in English, German, Italian, and Polish, both online and in print. Her first chapbook, apples for adam, was published by FootHills Publishing in January 2005. When she is not writing, she is reading, listening to music, watching movies, blogging, communicating with friends, playing tennis or travelling — frequently several of these at the same time.
Copyright 2006, Michaela A. Gabriel