There She Is

When I go into the garden, there she is.

The specter holds up her arms to show

that her hands are eaten off.

She is silent because of the agony.

There is blood on her face.

I can see she has done this to herself.

So she would not feel the other pain.

And it is true, she does not feel it.

She does not even see me.

It is not she anymore, but the pain itself

that moves her. I look and think

how to forget. How can I live while she

stands there? And if I take her life

what will that make of me? I cannot

touch her, make her conscious.

It would hurt her too much.

I hear the sound all through the air

that was her eating, but it is on its own now,

completely separate from her. I think

I am supposed to look. I am not supposed

to turn away. I am supposed to see each detail

and all expression gone. My God, I think,

if paradise is to be here

it will have to include her.

Copyright Credit: “There She Is” by Linda Gregg. Copyright 2008 by Linda Gregg. Reprinted from All of It Singing with permission from Graywolf Press. www.graywolfpress.org

Source: All of It Singing (Graywolf Press, 2008)