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By Lindy Obach | 03/09/2018 | Leave a Comment

Vintage Poems-

I was instantly hooked on this one. I love poems that give the readers an instruction – that tell us how. Plus, the imagery is just gorgeous. Enjoy!

Inferno, Meet My Bridges
By Rebecca Erickson

Ice polishes the streets as a man
and a woman struggle to meet
on a bridge. They slip, hips hit
ice; her bare hands reach for his.
Still they rise, skates throw ice dust
behind them. Again, they fall. Joining
would be like the sun’s caress—letting warmth
seep into ice. Tired and bruised, knees kiss
the ground. The bridge begins to burn; she flickers
behind flames as she steps toward him.
You see, the key to a good marriage is never
hating each other at the same time, blames lick
blisters on her legs. She reaches for him,
about as possible as cradling a crescent
moon. On the other side, the man freezes, eyes whip
back and forth, no signals demand his feel to move.
She picks up her pace; fire swirls
in her eyes. Smoke makes a home
in her lungs. Tire chases her; the bridge-
starts to collapse. The only thought
in his head screams at him to reach her. The moon
witnesses him awakening, his sprint to her,
and their plummet to the polish below.

Originally published in Pasque Petals 89.1, Spring 2015

Featured image by SETShots under the creative commons license on Flickr.

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Filed Under: Blog, News, Uncategorized, Vintage poems

About Lindy Obach

Lindy Obach grew up on a farm on the edge of the North Dakota badlands and has been living, teaching, and writing in South Dakota for a dozen years. Her chapbook, "North of Zenith," was a semifinalist in The 2015 New Women's Voices competition by Finishing Line Press. Her poetry has been published in The South Dakota Review, Midwestern Gothic, and South Dakota Women: Action, Influence, and Voice. She is a member of the Women Poets Collective and loves calling the prairie her home.

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