Kristin Flick Strid: 3 Poems
From the sun room
I see two trees
one framed by beveled panes
shows a flare of wildness
loud Pucci pinks
hot sunset salmon
orange yellow
red as the dress
you wore to Peter’s wedding
Your favorite colors
The other
I see through plain
divided glass
browning quietly
drab against matte grey
a dull old oak that
billowed green last April
reminding me
to breathe again
after you died
I am not a queen bee
who leaves her hive
to find defenseless drones
to pleasure her in flight
Or a peahen who
excited by a shimmering tail
picks a preening male
for just one season
I am part of a
penguin pair
faithful playmates
who swim and bathe
bask in the sun
shoulder to shoulder
then waddle along
to our own singing
If you Leave
I watch you doze
in the shadows
of the moon
could I sleep on cold sheets
without you by my side
Might I lock the doors
and fly a thousand miles
like the monarch butterfly who
cannot stand the cold
Or perhaps like the loon
who bobs about
searching for her missing mate
I would look for you at dusk
to come and walk the dogs
As the white widowed swan
waits by the rushes
I will tend your garden
long into the summer
till your trumpet lilies bloom
Biographical Note for Kristin Flick Strid: I started writing stories and poetry as a young mother of five, sneaking time at my typewriter while the children napped. In the early 80’s I enrolled in an autobiographical writing class and have been there ever since. Every Monday morning I would steal away to my secret place, behind the heavy wooden doors, in the parlor of the old Victorian house, where we read each other’s work, talked, and listened to each other. It was there, engrossed in the works of my classmates, that I forgot if we were out of milk, if the dog needed his shots, and didn’t care what was for dinner. I made many life-long friendships and began to learn the art of good writing. My published works include The Swimming Lesson, an eighty-three page collection of poetry, two children’s stories, and inclusion in Monday Mornings, an anthology of short stories and poetry. See other poems by Kristin Flick Strid published in our September issue.
