The City
I was half awake until you said,can you send the city some love, please?
We were standing in the empty parking lot
at the top of a hill
my mind in a fear chokehold
unbolted, went out to the clouds and trees
the people not on streets
but somewhere in the city needing something
needing everything we could give
and beyond what we had or could see.
When I heard you died
I was sitting in a chair in the gardenwith the phone to my ear. I got up
and lay on the grass, saw nothing but earth
held me as it will you.
It’s Over
Inside all the talking is a deep silence.We don’t know what to say.
We don’t know what is happening.
This has always been true. Good or bad,
we only know the peak, once it’s past.
We’re not there yet.
We’re never there.
We’re always there.
Ronna Bloom is the author of six books of poetry. Her most recent book, The More (Pedlar Press, 2017)waslonglisted for the City of Toronto Book Award. Her poems have been recorded by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and translated into Spanish, Bangla, and Chinese. She has collaborated with health care professionals, architects, musicians, choreographers, and filmmakers. Ronna created the Poet in Residence programme at Sinai Health and is currently is Poet in Community to the University of Toronto. Website: http://www.ronnabloom.com. Twitter: @ronnabloom
Banner Art: Downtown Trees, a visual image (c) (2021), Robert Frede Kenter. Twitter: @frede_kenter
IceFloe Press 