“As Unclear as an Ultrasound” by Marilyn Letts
Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “As Unclear as an Ultrasound” by Marilyn Letts.
As Unclear as an Ultrasound
By Marilyn Letts
Magpies cry for healthcare
smelling the white snow melting
into the brown grass. Months of decay
expose rose stalks that snag Calgary clouds.
Politicians sprout in the sidewalk cracks
yelling “E. Coli!” An oil price increase
launches spring:
“This is going to trigger Sputnik 2.0!”
The bigger baby blue summer
sky threatens rain and softens
leaders’ hearts to almost speak the truth.
Poplars taste sugar crystals
when the limp river rises.
The flicker’s drumming pick-up lines
drown out opposition, even the magpies.
Copyright © Marilyn Letts
Previously published in emerge 23: The Writer’s Studio Anthology, 2023 .
Marilyn Letts is a poet and writer who loves to experiment. Her poetry publications include FreeFall Magazine, Feathertale Review, Other Voices and NewVerse.News. In 2023 she completed a creative writing certificate through The Writer’s Studio at Simon Fraser University. She lives with gratitude on the traditional territories of the peoples of the Treaty 7 region and the Métis Nation of Alberta, Districts 5 & 6 in a city currently called Calgary. www.mletts.ca
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