White Spaces

After black, before red
and the bold mixing of Picasso colors
are white spaces. In the skylight portal
above her bed where the moon courts Venus
defies Orion’s sword. In the perfect spill
of November dawn while she breathes through a flute
to find December. In the time between the night before
the morning after, the shower and the towel.
In the unmarked calendar with forgotten dates.
In the room at the end of the hall where
one made business deals, another wrote poetry
she never entered. On the wall in the room
at the end of the hall, in the house she’s lived
with transients, today she hung a nude
painted black and red.

–Catherine Arra

Catherine Arra is the author of Slamming & Splitting (Red Ochre Press, 2014), Loving from the Backbone (Flutter Press, 2015) and forthcoming in 2017, Tales of Intrigue & Plumage (FutureCycle Press). Recent poetry appears in The Timberline Review, Peacock Journal, MockingHeart Review and Split Rock Review. A former English and writing teacher, Arra now teaches part time and facilitates a local writers’ group in upstate New York. Find her at www.catherinearra.com

–Art: “Whitby 617” Photo by Helen Burke

Helen Burke has been writing poetry for forty-five years. Her third collection, Today the Birds will Sing, was published in 2017 by Valley Press.  Helen holds a Masters degree in Literature, and is also a visual artist and radio host.           

Copyright 2017, Catherine Arra. Copyright 2017, Helen Burke


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