have come to know when to brush crumbs from his vest
when to tighten the cummerbund
the puppet movement of brother death
in black and white evening suit he takes off
his hat does that jerking bow of the ambassador
s’il vous plait bone on bone clicking
and rocking the faces carved into the wall
mildly looking on not hearing me cry out
as I touch the dark he comes from
rooting for applause
and it is true this chill comes from within
the night dispelled by one candle
fights to take hold wherever the earth begins
and I close my eyes I close my eyes a baby in my arms
the current taking me waking me
from the dream I am naked in Barcelona
Author of MOON AND MERCURY (Washington Writers’ Publishing House, 1990) and a chapbook, TROUBLED BY AN ANGEL (Cleveland State University Poetry Center, 1997), Elisabeth Murawski is a native of Chicago but has lived in the DC area since 1960. She works as a training specialist for the U.S. Census Bureau and has served as an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University Washington Center and the University of Virginia Falls Church Center. She has received four grants from The Helene Wurlitzer Foundation in Taos, NM and a partial fellowship from the Vermont Studio Center.
Publications include: THE YALE REVIEW, THE DUBLINER, THE VIRGINIA QUARTERLY REVIEW, GRAND STREET, DOUBLETAKE, FIELD, THE LITERARY REVIEW, CRAZYHORSE, THE AMERICAN VOICE, AMERICAN POETRY REVIEW, POETRY NORTHWEST, THE OHIO REVIEW, SHENANDOAH, et al.