Martina Reisz Newberry
Once, when I owned my years,
I walked with my friend up a dirt road
that ended at a falling-down house where
two children sat on a slivered porch step.
They stared and I stared and my friend
said They could be us. The possession
of time and the not-knowing that comes
with it was much with me.
So imagine this: a dirt road and a cold sunny day,
a falling-down house and two dark-haired kids
on the splintered excuse for a step.
Imagine approaching that house,
Those children… Imagine
you’re smiling at them as you approach.
Your years are your own as mine were
so imagine those two looking up at you,
not knowing about your years or
your good intentions.
Ojos como el cielo looking at you,
daring you to come one step further.
Imagine that your smile fades and you turn around
to walk back to your friend waiting on the dirt road.
She lifts an eyebrow. You say “They’re very poor.”
Yes she says, they are.
Imagine your walk back to the small cabin
where you are a guest, the quiet except for
puffs of breath between you and the
curious pulse of the last thing you said.
Martina Reisz Newberry’s latest book is Never Completely Awake (Deerbrook Editions 2017). Passionately in love with her city, Los Angeles, she lives there with her husband, Brian Newberry, a Media Creative.
