{"id":1368,"date":"2020-05-11T07:00:20","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T05:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/musemagazine\/?p=1368"},"modified":"2020-05-11T08:10:48","modified_gmt":"2020-05-11T06:10:48","slug":"poems-by-marie-mcmullin-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/musemagazine\/2020\/05\/poems-by-marie-mcmullin-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Poems by Marie McMullin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Images: \u00a9 <\/strong>Marie McMullin<\/span><\/p>\n

Author:<\/strong> Marie McMullin<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Arms Open
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Once unbound<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 your hair cascaded down your back<\/span><\/p>\n

just as wild but lighter than the laughter<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 falling<\/span><\/p>\n

hard as hail<\/span><\/p>\n

as the storm brew in your eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Once I tried<\/span><\/p>\n

to anchor your grief<\/span><\/p>\n

hand held out<\/span><\/p>\n

in vain<\/span><\/p>\n

wisps of hair trailed your escape.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Still at the table<\/span><\/p>\n

me here<\/p>\n

you there<\/p>\n

wounds glimpsed through vapours<\/span><\/p>\n

of brewing tea made me believe<\/span><\/p>\n

my hand<\/span><\/p>\n

by inch<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0by inch<\/span><\/p>\n

would grasp solid flesh<\/span><\/p>\n

that took flight<\/span><\/p>\n

light breeze<\/span><\/p>\n

and poured us more tea<\/span><\/p>\n

me here<\/span><\/p>\n

you there.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Walking side by side,<\/span><\/p>\n

should I believe the joy lighting<\/span><\/p>\n

your eyes, promising,<\/span><\/p>\n

or the gap from your hand to mine<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 holding<\/span><\/p>\n

the stuff of dreams?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So many years, love, standing apart.<\/span><\/p>\n

One step is enough<\/span><\/p>\n

to walk into arms held open<\/span><\/p>\n

so long bereft and aching<\/span><\/p>\n

to reach round your neck and swear<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve got you.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve got you.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Nest<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The birdhouse has two new lodgers;<\/span>
\nThis year the happy pair are blue tits.<\/span>
\nThey\u2019ve already started on home improvements:<\/span>
\nTwigs, moss and blades of grass,<\/span>
\nAnd even a tuft of dog fur the breeze<\/span>
\nCarried off when I gave him a brush.<\/span>
\nMadam settles out of sight,<\/span>
\nMister flutters anxiously about.<\/span>
\nAnd then the heavy lifting begins:<\/span>
\nOpen mouths crowding the door,<\/span>
\nRelentless hungry cries spurring on<\/span>
\nParents to endure fourteen-hour shifts<\/span>
\nAnd keep the worms and insects coming.<\/span>
\nSuch loud chirping lacks discretion \u2013<\/span>
\nThe magpie that massacred last year\u2019s brood<\/span>
\nLurks about again, its shadow<\/span>
\nStretching over the many bodies<\/span>
\nOf the neighbourhood\u2019s cats, cut-throats languishing<\/span>
\nBelow the nest. One well-aimed stone<\/span>
\nMakes them scatter; they\u2019ll be back.<\/span>
\nThis doesn\u2019t lessen the incessant comings<\/span>
\nAnd goings of these two tiny birds,<\/span>
\nCeaselessly working towards a future<\/span>
\nThat isn\u2019t promised; perhaps that\u2019s hope.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Beyond<\/strong><\/span>
\nFrom the window I see the moon<\/span>
\nPeering through a veil of clouds.<\/span>
\nI stare, and say hello, my sister<\/span>
\nIn solitude across the many miles.<\/span>
\nSilent, but there, and kind enough<\/span>
\nTo let me believe she sends back<\/span>
\nThe gazes of others far away<\/span>
\nLooking up and adoring her face.<\/span><\/p>\n

The night sky is studded with stars.<\/span>
\nLyra, Aquilla, Andromeda \u2013<\/span>
\nStories riddle the ether.<\/span>
\nLight years away and out of sight,<\/span>
\nGalaxies come to life and die,<\/span>
\nAnd still blaze on in the dark<\/span>
\nWriting off both time and space.<\/span>
\nIt is enough to make you believe in fate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sibylline stars, chartering courses<\/span>
\nWith incandescent ciphers.<\/span>
\nWho else learns the universe<\/span>
\nExpands, retracts,<\/span>
\nIs born and held in a name?<\/span>
\nStepping up to Atlas,<\/span>
\nI push the skies off his shoulders.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Images: \u00a9 Marie McMullin Author: Marie McMullin     Arms Open Once unbound \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 your hair cascaded down your back just as wild but lighter than the laughter \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 falling hard as hail as the storm brew in your eyes. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Once I tried to anchor your grief hand held […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1001999,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[36],"class_list":{"0":"post-1368","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-spring-2020","7":"tag-poetry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/musemagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/musemagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/musemagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/musemagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1001999"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/musemagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/musemagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1368\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/musemagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/musemagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/musemagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}