Shadow

Etched upon cold granite
much deeper than the words and dates
her shadow shows an odd reality
but in reverse. It is the light
behind him which both burns and blinds 
and so he blocks it, shadows her 
from all-consuming pain
and warms, instead, her heart.


(c)Ellen Gillette, 2016

Beneath a Metal Sky

Incognito, royalty (in purple shoes
a princess had bestowed some years ago)
decided she was overdue for exercise,
emerging from her modest chariot
to climb the bridge alone.
Beneath a metal sky that turned the water
far beneath a lovely shade of green,
infused with salt and light.
with oxygen and sun, she smiled
at others walking past and even caught
the eye of someone in a truck
who couldn't guess the woman
in the baseball cap had left her crown
at home. Her muscles spoke convincingly
that she should do this very thing
more frequently -- why had it been so long?
Let others walk in circles,
one more time around the mountain,
thought the queen. I'd rather walk
a bridge and back , and smell the fishy breeze.
I'd rather feel the pounding of my heart
while walking in my purple shoes 
beneath a metal sky.



(c) Ellen Gillette, 2016

Moonlit Smile

Rocking gently in the darkness,

knobby knees hugged

to her chest against the chilliness

of night, her heart is warmed 

by what the open window shows:

the faintest sliver of a moonlit

smile that hangs upon the blackness 

of the sky, so subtle she can't see the cat

she hears across the room, asleep but

purring to a dream. 

And in the darkness, 

lifting up her face to catch its beam,

she wipes away her tears, and listens 

lovingly as Moon, her own sweet Moon,

speaks through the breeze 

with promises and secrets just for her

to calm her every fear.

(c) Ellen Gillette, 2016