Mary Salisbury

Call and Response

Who listens if I live alone?
A bird at the window hovers.
Who is that I hear whistling?
You have gone before me.
What is it you want from me?
An act of subordination.
What is it you have against me?
Freedom.
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Why won’t you speak to me?
Because I used to know you.
Tell me who you are.
The river runs smoothly now.
Why did you put me in harm’s way?
The pain is too great.
If you could go back what would you say?
Don’t go.
*
What do you wish you had said?
The hay shimmers in the yellow light.
What is it you wished you had done?
Walked through the field as the sun set.
What would you redo if you could?
Any hesitation to show love.
My canoe glides across a plain of sand.
Why do I have no oars?
*
My arms are tired. I am at war with myself.
Who dispenses mercy?
All day the rain comes down.
Are you there, deep in the old growth forest?
If I stood beside you would you sweep me into your arms?
The wind stirs the leaves on the ground.
*
Who walks in our woods now?
Deer follow their own paths.
Do our spirits press against the wind?
The mist hides everything.
Who hears me if I cry alone?
An owl sits in the tree beyond my window.
Are these stories I tell about myself?
There are many layers of earth below me.

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Mary Salisbury is the author of two chapbooks, Come What May and Scarlet Rain Boots (Finishing Line Press). Her work has appeared in Michigan Quarterly Review, North Dakota Review, Calyx, Westchester Review, and other journals. Her short story collection, Side Effects of Wanting was published by Main Street Rag. An Oregon Literary Arts Fellowship recipient, Mary earned her MFA in writing from Pacific University.

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