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

Charlotte Innes


 

Dolphin Hour

I wake from exhausted sleep
to late afternoon sun
on dust, and a glowing parade
of animals—hare, peacock,
gazelle, tiger, dolphins—
on an old pencil box
from someone I loved once.

A friend's sister is dying.
Huge waves break and bulge
and break on the drowning edges
of the hour. Here are my hands,
still able to hold a face
lovingly,
as you, Dolphin,
curve your back
to an arc of leaping waves.