P oetry R epair S hop 1999.09:106
- CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL POETRY
- by new, emerging, and established poets

BILL CARROLL
Opening the Cottage

After the long intermission of winter
The signs are difficult to augur
   Choke cherry seeds hoarded in the rag drawer
   Nibble marks chiseled into a bar of hand soap
   A long tangle of nappy hair festooning the kitchen drain.
 
As with much of life
I am left to guess vaguely
About the plot and the characters
That unfolded here, carrying autumn to spring
While I warmed myself in the city.
 
In the end I am satisfied
That these old secret walls still take me in
For the green of another summer.

Poem copyright 1999; all rights reserved. (If you wish to copy this poem, please contact its AUTHOR).