LOUISE WAREHAM LEONARD

 

Regrets from Abroad

 
1. 
 
There is so much to say I feel little ability to say 
anything. Not that there is no interest. 
Beaches, dislocation, the poem about the 
blackbird, all of this is of interest. The years 
required to claim residence. The couple 
on Dr. Phil who have written in asking for help. 
 
What fresh help is this? I married a man 
who walks the seawall watching for blue-bottles 
as I swim. Sickness is nothing but a collection 
of memories, how they surge and fling, 
how they inhabit. 
 
 
2. 
 
Much is accumulated though not in our honour. 
I am tired of going. Maybe the only there 
is the final there. It begins to look like sleep, 
I dream a man sweeps me off my feet 
and disappoints. Most nights we forget the argument 
but not always. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Louise Wareham Leonard grew up in Wellington and New York City. She is the author of two novels: Miss Me A Lot Of (July 2007, Victoria University Press, New Zealand) and Since You Ask (Akashic Books, New York 2004). Her prose poetry and poetry has appeared in several American journals including Poetry and Quarter After Eight.

 

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