A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO POEMS AND REVIEWS


 Weak Links     by Bernadette Dyer You left on a Thursday afternoon in February,  A long black limousine pulled out  As sunlight crept in  Through the window  Where you used to hide behind blinds,  And now we are afraid  That we will be expected to be strong  Though we are the weakest links  With ready tears to spill,  Tears that blinds us to malevolence  As we at your feet  Dad admired kindness,  And in our shame, called to mind  People that you did not forget,  People whose hopes you carried  Like pebbles in a handkerchief,  Though your listening ear  Had been dry from straining  Against their pleadings,  And you would not let us bear the pain,  Even as together we watched  For the horseman’s coming.