A Little Off Stage Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

fairy tale borders I painted on the walls
I printed in the halls
the coat closets in the apartment of my dreams

where on the patio

birds would come to my hand, if only
for the stenciled cherries.
and I am the tuning fork of

the prismed clouds I kept to myself.
while outloud outloud the fervid chanters chanted
in the village square

near the garish fruit stands.

whilest we laid low my soul and I

where the ice breaks apart
revealing the glaced violets
speaking our rainbowed part, the past

a little offstage; the houselights
dimmed with starlight sleeping
and everything prayed in colours.

mary angela douglas 22 january 2016