Katherine Spadaro: ‘Carer’s Reverie’, ‘A Result’, ‘At the Deli Counter’ and ‘Winter Trees’

Carer’s Reverie

The voice that calls with urgency
is still the voice that once warned me
of cars, of heights, of men in bars …

now warning that the tea is cold,
the window open,
the old house sold.

Katherine Spadaro

A Result

I must have hoped
for the haughty beauty
of the lady on the packet

or at least to partake
of an essence mysterious

sparkliness of beetroot
nibbliness of cranberry
bashfulness of pansy
slurpy juice of plum

mist of distant mountain
sigh of whispered velvet
dragon’s trove of amethyst
wine’s profound perfume

Even better, I get
perfect honesty
from the child by my side:

You look dreadfully silly
with that purple hair …

Katherine Spadaro

At the Deli Counter

A polished, label-laden woman in a gourmet store …
her appraising gaze scans the choices spread before her,
a white-aproned acolyte awaiting her decision.
Then a tiny movement in her throat
reveals that private flood of want,
the humble preparation for delight
of every child who spies a doughnut,
every tired commuter longing
to tear into the foil pack. They know this truth,
this reach for hope; they know it well, the bodies.

Katherine Spadaro

Winter Trees

The winter trees remind me of my brushes upside down
all hunched together, crabbly dry and bristly brown.
They will be plunged in pigment soon, in power soft and clear
for the stroking of the spring, and the shading of the year.

Katherine Spadaro