shot glass
title
"... brevity is the soul of wit ..."
- William Shakespeare

Bio


Joyce Parkes is published in literary magazines, journals and anthologies in Australia, the UK, Finland, Canada, Germany, the US, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Greece and the Netherlands. She writes in her third language.


Joyce Parkes


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The Chance

If all writing is a quest for the Holy Grail,
is every reading as well? Recalling
previous writs Susannah submits, what is

a path to one may be a track to another,
what is an island to some would be
a continent to others. Who, listening

to the rhythm of a drum, the boom
of a gong, the toll of a bell, the lilt of
a country's parallels, will listen

to tenants and landlords who will
tell or sing story or note counterpoints.
Some perish, some thrive, some cherish

the chance to move in favour of tenable
tomorrows; dwell on dense and drifting
days, befriend the meek, write a play.