Hari B Khalsa’s
poems have been published in numerous journals including the following: Nimrod, Western Humanities Review, Poet Lore, Zone 3 and The Dew Drop. She is the author of a chapbook, Life in Two Parts (Main Street Rag, 2010) and a book of poems, Talk of Snow (Walrus, 2015). Her award-winning chapbook, She Speaks to the Birds at Night While They Sleep was released summer, 2021. Her website is haribpoet.com.
The Mystery
Slowly it strikes me how quiet it is - Sharon Olds
I doze in a chair, book on my chest. Fog outside
the east-facing window. Fire in the stove. I survive
the day with raisins and eyeliner, pomegranate
and white stones placed in the shape of a river.
Tomorrow is a mystery. I forget this and lament
running out of eggs, rain stains on the ceiling, flares
of anger. When I get a dog, I’ll tolerate its dog
smell, paws tracking in dirt, wisps of hair swirling
the floor. I will take its face in my hands, press
my fleshy nose deep into the plush of its neck.
From the poem “Sunday in the Empty Nest” from The Unswept Room.