Before the Ship Arrives
       

Night and the wait is long.
A woman laughs into her drink.
A rough man wishes someone good sleep.
I notice a cross, the church unlit,
and right above, or next to it,
a half moon fastened to the black.
And in the parked car next to mine, waiting
for the ship to take us home, is someone
sleeping, a bird cage on its side,
the parrot inside, a woman with her leg
stretched over the dashboard, and the man
I wish to hear from is out of reach.
Savage, the clarity of this hour.

Copyright © 2009 Adrianne Kalfopoulou All rights reserved
from Passion Maps
Red Hen Press
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission