Either, Or
by ...
Guy Gavriel Kay
She doesn’t like being understood, which makes
loneliness complicated, though you could take the
(perfectly valid) view that all loneliness is complex,
or really simple. Either, or. She wouldn’t even
be pleased that her dislikes are understood.
She walks Manhattan streets in March, long-
striding through snow melting to slush, in new boots
bought to assuage (however inadequately) her latest
iteration of midwinter blues. A southern girl in
New York, what could one reasonably expect?
She flashes confidence in her stride, at work,
in a bar with friends, end of day, into night.
She withdraws inside, seeing them falling for it,
knowing she’s only flashing, really – another
fly façade among too many in this city.
But our own mirror matters most, has to do that,
unless we’re maybe in love and then the image offered
by the one we’ve (maybe) fallen for might mean more.
Either, or. It’s hard to fall in love with people we can fool.
‘Not fooling anyone’ could be a new way of saying ‘able to love’. Liked this poem, and thanks for it.
This was beautiful. Thank you so much.
[…] Su Brightweawings c’è una terza poesia, Shalott, quasi identica alla versione riportata a pagina 76. Fra le tre poesie presenti sul sito è quella che mi piace di più. Mi sono segnata altri versi ma ho deciso di non trascriverli, è come pensare di poter ammirare un romanzo leggendone solo alcune pagine. Possono essere bellissime, possono commuovere, ma l’opera completa è un’altra cosa. C’è un’altra poesia di Kay che conosco anche se non compare in Beyond This Dark House, se vi va di leggerla la potete trovare qui: https://newpoetry.ca/2015/02/10/either-or/. […]