The Two Sides of the River, and: Diamond
Rent from DeepDyve- The Two Sides of the River, and: Diamond
The Two Sides of the River
The time I said to my mother, "There's no God.There's not." She was hoping there was, wishedto see her dead parents again in heaven, her two deadbrothers and sister. She asked if I was sure.I held to it, a small man miniscule in my innocence.Mother of love and loneliness, I am falling eyes shut.Today, I pray to you for all the oblivion to come in.
Diamond
after Hayden Carruth
I know a nice man who makes diamondsfrom human ash (owns the patent).It's all perfectly normal for himto leave the house in the morning,maybe in green hazy springtime, and he passesthe daffodils yellow by the fencesand before him on his deskthe remains of a life. Who needs the old namesfor death? He speaksin flame as he works to transform grief,work it downinto something other than darkness. [End Page 187] And listen: when I'm lost,what a waste of your best sunny days, my dear,to visit a grave by the back of the cemetery. You,who are entirely loving and rare, deservefinally a husbandwho will accent your yellow silk dress, the onewhere you glow like a new moon.In those drifting momentswhen you know me only as light (not this scrap of a poem). I,in my bright shining eye,will look back with death'sflawless clarity. [End Page 188]
Chris Green is the author of three books of poetry: The Sky Over Walgreens, Epiphany School, and Résumé. He's edited four anthologies, including I Remember: Chicago Veterans of War. He teaches in the English Department at DePaul University.
