Poetry Corner 1 Ways of Saying Goodbye At the kitchen window, washing the dishes from the meal you spent five hours preparing. Airborne. With a carving on a tree. Or a sign in the bedroom – ‘No lifeguard on duty.’ With your hand around his waist. Mingling with the roses in your front garden. Standing perfectly still on the front step. Shrinking. Blouse half unbuttoned and standing upside down. With a total absence of thought. Juggling. A kiss. Convincing him to stay with a drop of honey on your tongue. Rolling around in the front path gravel. Sitting down to a meal of leftovers. Tossing a chair. With grace. With a lack of grace. Even more airborne. So high you never will come down. Dancing on the stovetop. Or the backyard trampoline. Flipping the finger. Expanding and contracting. Turning up the radio. Lingering while there is still a possibility. Running faucets. Brief but all-encompassing. Hurling stones. Or just like every other time, whispering the word ‘Goodbye.’
By John Grey. John Grey is an Australian poet and a US resident, who was recently published in Orbis, The Dalhousie Review, and 3rd Wednesday. His latest books, Leaves On Pages and Memory Outside The Head are available through Amazon.
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Pride
Go out there a Raise your flag Paint the colo From today yo
Your dancing crowd Your laughter Today no secr And the old cr
Because here to Our struggles Celebrations l The battle has
We will carry o When these fe Until you too m And we all can
By Abdulmugheeth Peterso literature, culture and socia is Head of Academic Studie son of The Al-Ghurbaah Fo isation. Much of Abdulmug a young Muslim gay man a of the marginalised. He en movies, books and too man Johannesburg, South Africa
