Guest Poet C. Matthew Tusa
Drifter
A woman wanders through the house,
stacking dishes neatly on their shelves,
folding T-shirts into perfect white squares.
Outside, in the yard, he moves like breath
in the cool air. Wind shivers.
Birds babble in the trees.
A limb snaps like the click
of a lock. Ice crunches
beneath his boot.
He watches the cracked sky shimmy
in the river's icy windowpane
as sunlight pries through a cloud.
How long, he wonders, before leaves
mumble through the trees and pansies
burst from their purple straightjackets.
January, 2001
C. Matthew Tusa's Questions:
1. Does the description in the poem successfully reveal the poem's dramatic situation.
2. Is the tone consistent in the poem?
3. Does the poem seem finished?
Cemetery Tour
In the dark reflection of marble
a woman yawns.
Behind her, chrysanthemums
open their yellow eyes.
Beneath the shadow of an olive tree
a tour guide points to a row of tombs
where the names of governors cling
to granite.
We walk among the procession of cameras,
among the constant clearing of throats
that sounds like Amen.
Each brief eulogy moves us
from tomb to tomb.
January, 2001
C. Matthew Tusa's Questions:
1. Does the description in the poem successfully reveal the feelings of the narrator (and the feelings of those on the tour)?
2. Is the tone in the poem consistent?
3. Does the poem seem finished?
An Empty Window
In the kitchen she sprinkles flour
over white fists of dough.
Cayenne stains the countertop,
butter hisses in a frying pan.
After her husband leaves,
she sits near a window
struggling with her stockings,
fastening her story like a satin blouse.
She puts powder around her eyes,
stares deeper into the empty pane,
watches rain rattle glass.
Outside, the sky purples like a bruise.
January, 2001
C. Matthew Tusa's Questions:
1. Does the description in the poem successfully reveal the poem's dramatic situation and the feelings of the persona?
2. Is the tone consistent in the poem?
3. Does the poem seem finished?
APW Guests' Pages
APW Home