Jean Rivard - University of British Columbia

Sharon
Singer
not a sigh of desire
(for my mother)
did you notice how the view
zoomed in and the world before your eyes
narrowed small and indistinct?
a target it seems
dense and ungiving.
peripheral vision
and the hues that might be long
ribbons of orange violet sunset
are blurry and vague
and maybe you feel dizzy
when you strain to focus.
you want to know you want to know
what it is that stirs
in the dim.
You want to know
and maybe you're afraid
since god was in the sky
last time you looked
and you were told that the finger
he pointed wasn't kind.
december gales push dry leaves
down the road past you
and you tug your collar
high and close.
you think you hear your name
just now in the wind
as the wool touches your ears.
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