Time Capsule

Our history has already degraded
to the rubber soles of a pair of shoes
and an ivory thimble.
Nobody will be able to read

the newspapers
destroyed by years of rainwater
leaking in through the cracks
freezing solid every winter, no one

will be able to read the rolled-up scroll
placed ceremoniously in the box
announcing that day’s events
the photographs of our town
doomed to quick decay through faulty design.

 

Birth

They pulled him from my body
blue as Buddha, white cord wrapped around his neck
as if, even then, I wasn’t prepared to let him go.

I will always feel his hand in mine
feel his head on my shoulder as I fall asleep
fight the passage of time that has turned him

into this man who can’t wait to go.

 

***

Holly Day has taught writing classes at the Loft Literary Center in Minnesota since 2000. Her published books include Music Theory for Dummies, Music Composition for Dummies, Guitar All-in-One for Dummies, Piano All-in-One for Dummies, Walking Twin Cities, Insider’s Guide to the Twin Cities, Nordeast Minneapolis: A History, and The Book Of, while her poetry has recently appeared in New Ohio Review, SLAB, and Gargoyle. Her newest poetry book, Ugly Girl, just came out from Shoe Music Press.