The 2River View 24.4 (Summer 2020)
 
 

Peter Waldor

Doing the Dishes

Your plates are all mismatched
as if you have one from
every kiln on earth
like Noah collecting animals
They are all old so even
the ugly ones are beautiful
like the rusty knife you use
while the box of tempered
German blades stays sealed
On one plate your grandmother
painted a hummingbird
and though you love it more
than any object you let it
take its place on the table
Accidents don’t worry you
just this darkening world
and so you cook for as many
people as you can
letting them stay late
talking and laughing
and you let me
do the dishes
so I can skip
the dancing when it
inevitably begins
 

Magic Trowel

Your hand
briefly
on my hand,
teaching me
the trowel,
to leave
no trace of the
instrument,
and to angle
everything slightly
so liquids won’t pool.
I wonder if you’ll
notice the faint
crescent moon I left.
Will it bother you?
It’s waxing,
always.
 

Peter Waldor is the author numerous books, including Who Touches Everything (Settlement House), which won the National Jewish Book Award. His work has appeared in American Poetry Review, Colorado Review, Iowa Review, Ploughshares, Poetry Daily, Verse Daily and elsewhere.

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