Poems

NEW LEGS

ANOTHER PINOCCHIO

the girl was wooden
with so many strings attached
she was good good good
but that's about all

so the way for
her to get real
was to go out and find
her own blue fairy

in a small round woman
(her eyes were blue)
who said I knew
you would come

I just couldn't
see you before
or I would have
had to keep you

and the girl in this
blue eyed mirror
that held her
and held her

could see and feel
her own fingers
unhooking
strings

I choose grief
that river
that takes you
somewhere.

Like when Charlie said
it must be hard not
to know the person
you were born to.

And off I swept
both hating him
and loving him
for saying it.

Thrashing upstream in
anger to come
swirling down
in sadness.

And bumped
against the bank
to climb out
on new legs.

Where would I
still be
but for that river
and these new legs?