"A Scene" and "Metaphors"

At some point, all of this will stop:


A Scene


“Love me, love me / love me, love me now”
— Buffy Sainte-Marie


At some point,
all of this will stop:
the storm diminished to spots,
the wind making a final purr through our legs

but until then
watch the woman’s hand searching in her purse—
in this moment, anything can be summoned—
a mint, the evening light, a forgotten dream

and above see how the sky is at a loss
only the clouds aware of their own complications
while out here the minutes tremble.
You and I tremble.

Others scatter to elude this instant
time harvesting each fearsome step

but even your hand reaching out
moves through memory

so until everything comes to a crisp stop,
let the birds wait a little longer, hungry in the trees,
let the tea steep darkly and the sky impress upon us how it will

until the woman reveals from her bag
a potted pansy, the Madonna, the blind galaxy.

Metaphors


a virgin tipping the scales

half of the pie uneaten

the puck, the drop, and the scramble

a canoe slicing the stretch of lake

the proverbial glass fallen over

a ringing alarm set six months before

the profile of a face polarized

a caterpillar lounging on a leaf’s midrib

the lion crouching as the hunter crouches lower

a book opened to its deepest pages

the song’s bridge upon which we cross once more

a truck slipping into Ontario at eve—all east, all dark from here.

About the author

Gillian Sze is the author of multiple poetry collections and picture books. She lives in Montreal where she teaches creative writing and literature.