Reflections in the Afternoon
in response to Edward Hopper’s “A Room in Brooklyn”
My mother’s oak rocking chair
is where I sit
to watch the green light
touch my carpeted floors
there is a quiet warmth
to sitting here
in my own little corner
of this great room
she will always take up
space here
- but I’d like to think
I have a little piece of it.
written 4.16.20
Thank you
In my fifth floor New York walk-up
guest-room/office
I look out into the courtyard
see cherry blossoms against grey bricks,
finches chirping,
& the angry mother in the window
across from mine
yelling at her kids - maybe reminding them
to pick up their clothes
blues and pinks begin to paint the sky - a canvas
above the grey, soot-covered apartments
I won’t leave my tower today -
instead looking down from above at the kingdom
left to the squirrels and the jesting birds
I close my eyes, bring my hands
to the heart of my forehead,
bowing with gratitude -
Thank you, thank you.
written 5.14.20
Hearth
Rattle my cage
let my bones
pay for my sins
remind me how they click
and creak
bend them
into a sanctuary
for your restless soul
find the heat
between them
make your home there.
written July 25, 2019
Winter Picnics by the Riverside
in response to “Untitled (Blue, Green and Brown)” by Mark Rothko
Winter picnics by the riverside
quiet & breathless
the birds have gone away
so the trees are singing instead
a wistful tune - an a capella quartet
in my backyard
How lucky am I to know such beauty!
I feel my legs sway along
the soil crunching to the
rhythm underneath me
my chocolate brown hair
lifting towards
the tree branches
higher & higher
written 4.16.20
Escape Plan #521
The tomatoes in my grandpa’s garden in Romania
are being neglected
When I wake up in the morning the first thing
I do is move my coffee table
so that I can take up space
There are constellations on my keypad
- Anda Totoreanu
