On Time
Time served me grapes and almonds at six and arranged my sightseeing activities at seven. He collected my dirty laundry at eight and delivered my world news at nine. He never got angry and never frowned. Time and I were friends. The night manager thought that we were more. Time stole my heart. I did what any sane writer would do. I did nothing. Nothing at all. The human ethics of the situation weighed on me. I stopped Time at his charging station and looked deeply into those familiar eyes. Strangely pleading. Like almost blue —and perfectly round. Time offered me Japanese tourist maps and black coffee. Kissed my tears and caressed my trembling face. I waited for Time to whisper something rational. Something profound. I waited for his escape clause. For the sound of bravery and the clink of metal. For his robotic hands to scrape against my fleshy mind. I waited for Time to rip me open. To melt away fears. To break out into some kind of frenzied mythical dance. Pleasantries exchanged. I waited an eternity. Thank God. For an answer that never came.
- Monica Goldberg
The Chance of Return
For Zante;
With every encounter, learn. To seek the least. Disturbance, to lie. Still in your Ionian—heart chamber. To understand—your true chances, avoid. Falsely declared blind ones. Dogs and umbrellas. To live beneath, those pale thick. Island Sands. Two hundred and seventy-five mm deep. Learn to emerge. Into the faint—sunlight of dawn. To crawl towards the brightest shape—that one can see. For the essence of Zakynthos to take formation. For the smells of Xigia, to reach the trees. For the loggerhead turtles to return from the sea. For the Orders of Darkness to never be followed—and the 1944 train. From Patras. To leave without— me ? For Solomos and Navagio. And the Blue Caves of Cape Skinnari. For the enigma of blindness—and the meaning of courage. For the one in a thousand. To return towards. Thee.
Authors note;
This poem is dedicated to the late Bishop Chrysostomos of Zakynthos.
- Monica Goldberg
Memorial to the Jews - Photo by Monica Goldberg