Claire Cochrane - Junior
The box has no picture.
No printed sky, no border to guide the edges.
No printed sky, no border to guide the edges.
Fragments scatter across the table:
green repeating itself, gray that doesn’t fit in.
green repeating itself, gray that doesn’t fit in.
I test one against another.
The knots misalign.
They touch and refuse.
They touch and refuse.
I press until the edges give in,
until the pieces hold the shape I demand.
until the pieces hold the shape I demand.
Above the table, a corkboard.
Receipts.
A clipped headline.
A photograph without context.
A name circled twice for no reason.
A clipped headline.
A photograph without context.
A name circled twice for no reason.
They do not speak to each other.
They share no edge.
They share no edge.
Red thread runs between them;
date to date, name to name
drawn tight across the cork.
date to date, name to name
drawn tight across the cork.
I make the gaps into seams.
It is easier than leaving space empty.
Easier than saying these things happened near each other
and nothing held them there.
Easier than saying these things happened near each other
and nothing held them there.
It is hard to admit the pieces might belong
to different boxes.
to different boxes.
So I press again
until the wrong edges
wear into agreement.
until the wrong edges
wear into agreement.
The board bows, the image distorts.
But it holds.
675 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Kentfield CA 94904 Phone: 415-464-3800 | Email: admissions@marincatholic.org
