When the day is done,
a daughter wonders

what might have been
with a different magic.

A traveler who idles
on purpose to see

silent faces through
old mud-crusted windows

—imagines parents
who awaken in a hurry

to have coffee with cream,
slivers of smiles

circling the earth,
geometries of safety

like a pyramid housing
many mini triangles,

the smooth grooves
of a meticulous woodcut.

All conversation less
than harmonious, licked shut.

/

Elli Samuels is a poet whose work has been anthologized and published in numerous literary journals such as Maudlin House, Pif Magazine, and Tulsa Review. A cookbook author and yogi, Samuels lives in Texas.