"Eight"

 

8

Eight

            Look at the word

                        How do you say this word anyway?

                                    Look at the number—

                                                8

                                           8

A Mobius strip

            Unending

Two circles stacked

            One

            on

            top

            of

            the

            other

A number of depth

            Purple rooms

            Playing poker

                        Growing

                                    lectures

                                    radishes

                                    corn

                                    up

“Mom, why can’t Paula take me swimming?”

            Life

                        in full color

                                    first fetal photos

                                                explained in one afternoon

Eight

            With Uncle Red

                        and root beer

            And collections

                        of dogs

                        of teapots

                        of memories

Layers of happiness

            enfolded in blood

Dad’s cheerful letters

            from a distant war

                        News flashes

                                    Bombs

                                                Destruction

            Charlie’s lip

                        torn away

a bloody hand print on my thigh

                                                8

                        unending

                        Wrapping back onto itself

                                    joy and fear entwined

Me at eight!

Copyright 1994 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman