Mary Pecaut
If I speak of Paradise
then I’m speaking of our grandmother
who stands beside the river of time
indulging in verdant views beneath a tree
feasting on the whimbrel
in flight, ki-ki-ki
one eve shadowed into shame and blame.
It’s written lest we claim the truth
hidden, the ways of knowing not
forbidden.
If you
have spent your life
falling
forward
toward
the horizon, ever unattainable, no matter
pace or path
clay slab effaced or broken,
and if, like caterpillar,
you sense the tightness
of the world—gagged then swallowed
whole, your story’s been mis-told.
And then, what if
you close your eyes
before the mute beauty
of each breath,
inhale the tree,
hear the voice,
pick another fruit?
Mary Pecaut is a multi-genre writer, living in Brazil. Her poems, short stories have been published internationally. Winner of the Swiss GWG Literary Prize for Poetry and short-listed for the FISH Prizes for Poetry and Memoir, Mary facilitates Writing for Wellness Workshops.