These two poems by Nadja Maril savor life’s important moments, those experienced when discovering or observing our natural world or in relishing in the bonds that endure between us…
by: Nadja Maril
At Age Eight We Were Young Enough to Trespass The grass came up to our waists. Bare armed, we swam through dandelions and choke weed Ignoring welts and scratches. To stand before two wise giants. Clothed in gray bark Possessing wide trunks. One limb on each, bent upward at the elbow. The other branches growing towards the sky. They beckoned us to climb and hang. Enchanted, we straddled the branches and played. Feet dangling above the earth. Mosquitoes buzzing in our ears. Until our mouths became dry and we remembered the raspberries, Growing somewhere along the fence. Guarded by poison ivy and thorny shrubs Hidden among scratchy leaves Each seed encased in deep rose flesh. A delicate construction of orbs. Connected but independent. Tiny sweet gems. I saw the raspberries as little houses, Topping the end of each prickly stem. Fairy food. Hidden on this property where no one lived Discovered by a few stray children. Miraculous how they dissolved so quickly on our tongues.
Lost and Found Missing, one gold earring. Lost on a weeknight dinner date. We retraced our walking route. Inquired at the restaurant. Nothing. An unsolved mystery. I blamed myself for being careless Then told myself it’s only an earring And resigned myself to move on. But my husband kept looking. Three nights later, he saw it, peeking out from a street crevice As I strolled down the curving side street Slightly ahead, enjoying the cold air on my face. He called me back. Bent down on one knee He placed inside my palm My earring, battered but salvageable. My hero. We’ve shared our lives with one another For thirty-one years. Long enough to know nothing is ever perfect. Dents and scars are okay with me.
Nadja Maril is a former magazine editor and journalist living in Annapolis, Maryland. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from the Stonecoast Program at the University of Southern Maine and her short stories, poetry, and essays have been published in dozens of small literary magazines that include Change Seven, Lunch Ticket, Thin Air, and The Compressed Journal of Creative Arts. She is a founding member of the Old Scratch Press Poetry and Short Form Collective and blogs weekly at Nadjamaril.com. Follow her on Twitter at SN Maril.
