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March 2024

Poetry

by Fiver Lewis

Initiation

They—

 

are the gray woolen ladies

from Chelsea—

escorts to the tracks

carrying wicker baskets filled

with tiger lilies and peppermints.

 

We—

 

are the children

climbing into the cavernous belly

of car number forty-three

torn lilies pressed

in small, sticky palms—

we grip the remnants.

 

Gravesend—Farningham—Sole Street

 

at 7:07

the train snakes away

from the empty station

and a child

stands by a labeled case

waiting…

 

You—

 

are the wide-eyed stray

at the crossing

knowing that—now

it’s time.

This is your time…

 

Well…

lines, of course,

get crossed—

from America…

 

The cabby has forgotten.

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Fiver Lewis
California, USA

Fiver Lewis has been published in DASH Literary Journal, Down in the Dirt, Immanence: The Journal of Applied Myth, Mount Hope Magazine, Story, El Portal, and Folklore. She has a BA from Middlebury College, an MA from London School of Economics and Political Science in international history, and a master’s in social work from Loyola University Chicago. Fiver also studied at the Writers’ Salon and the Gotham Writers Workshop. She has worked as a journalist, dancer, vocalist, social worker, and integral coach. Fiver enjoys teaching dance, playing guitar, meditation, and the outdoors.

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