Lightwoman's Lament

Abstract

Lightwoman's Lament Denise Sweet (bio) Fishermen mend nets at noonwhile Keeper saws wood in silencethe last expanse of water falls stillagainst the curtain of lonelinessa hazy length of nothing,nothing to run into or away fromKeeper enters into lighthouse log "Compass deranged; Devil's Island not visible" when the fog fails to lift and I fall equallyinto the invisibleas if I stood for nothingas the color leaves my face, all colordrains from everythinginto black and whiteeverything in sight. They say "Do you ever get used to this?" but it won't help to ansswer.I bring bouquets of Needle's ThreadMilkweed, and a Red Willow toa mason jar for our tableour calloused hands fold into prayerwe address the creation of lost soulsand from this garden of in-betweenfists of sugar beets and a sour brothfill our bowls. When I make our beds and movethe dust from room to room,I bend like an old woman to liftyour boots, the dry wood fromthe stove's bin, the soiled clothingfrom the floor; I know no other way. [End Page 10] In day-long rain and cold,bone-tired of the wet, I turnthe collars on your shirtsthe music box of Katydids "she didn't, she did, she didn't" lifts me into a swirl aroundthe kitchen, I untie my hairand eat lavish wild strawberrieswithout regard. At times,the letters are enough,where words mean something,and I save them like currency,folding and unfolding at nightwhen sleep goes bankrupt andthe fog fails to lift. I've grown feeble in the silence whileKeeper is in the lighthouse grievingfor days over the sinkingof the Sedona, the Pretoria,now the Edmund Fitzgerals. Keeperwatches while white phantoms swimtoward the shore, toward himworking their way back fromwatery graves to rest uponthe shores of Sand Island I watch too. I put pencil to page tolengthen our lives, to live withinthe lunacy of margins, hoping tosurvive the drain of faith;our own wild descent. [End Page 11] Denise Sweet Denise Sweet is a former Poet Laureate for the state of Wisconsin. Her book Songs for Discharming won the Council for Wisconsin's Writer's Posner Award for poetry. Other publications include: Know By Heart, Days of Obsidian, Days of Grace (one of four authors), Nitawichige (one of four authors), and her new publication, Palominos Near Tuba City: New & Selected Poems. Copyright © 2018 University of Wisconsin Board of Regents