THE ODESSA SHOW
Libretto. Afterlife. Odessa, in flannel, baffles
in the morning storm, lull of her dark hair,
the killing of an alarm clock.
She is somber in the kitchen, picking the gem-fruits
from the iron basket, and turning them to appraise
their worth. Yesterday, you bought her roses
that lie rejected on the patient table.
When you go to hug her, she stiffens like a broom,
her arms filled with toil.
There are moments, like this, when you feel her slipping,
so you think it best to record each moment, preserve her life,
capture her days, catalogue her nights.
She grows alert, on camera, the subject of a new-found
fiction, and her life wilts before you,
then she disappears.
Author’s Bio
Julie Eliopoulos spends her days teaching and some inspired evenings writing. Her poetry has appeared in CV2, EVENT, The Fiddlehead, Grain, The New Quarterly, Prairie Fire, The Puritan, Room, and Vallum.