PERSPECTIVE

by Gabrielle Yetter


Too hot
She moans
Smearing a smudge of makeup with a damp rag
And fanning her brow with a sweaty hand.
     While across town,
     A young woman dangles her toes on the edge of a pond
     And turns her face, like a sunflower, toward the sky.

Too cold,
He groans
Tightening his fur-lined jacket and stabbing a finger at the heater
     While along the street
     A young man rolls his wheelchair to the window
     And smiles as he watches snowballs fly.

Too much traffic,
The businessman grumbles
Honking the horn of his Mercedes and hollering at passersby.
     While in a nearby lane, a woman sits behind the wheel
     Humming to the strains of classical melodies
     And noticing newborn lambs in the meadow.

Too busy
The store owner gripes
Frowning at customers lined up at the door.
     When around the corner
     A nurse wipes another cheek,
     Holds another hand,
     Grateful for the contact of a human soul
     As another and another and another wait outside.

Too long
Mutters the executive
Tapping her foot and huffing loudly in the queue.
     While five steps behind her
     A single mum takes a breath
     Relieved to have a few moments of alone-time
     As she composes a new poem in her mind.

In another town, another space,
A young woman walks,
Head bowed,
Clutching roses,
And lays them on the ground
     For one who
     Will never be too hot, too cold, too busy.
     For him it is
     Too late.


* * * * *

"Perspective" is part of Gabrielle Yetter's new poetry collection And the Clouds Parted. 

Gabrielle Yetter is a former journalist who has lived in Bahrain, South Africa, USA, Cambodia, and the UK. She is author of Whisper of the Lotus, The Definitive Guide to Moving to Southeast Asia: Cambodia, The Sweet Tastes of Cambodia, Ogden the Fish Who Couldn’t Swim Straight, and Martha the Blue Sheep and co-author with her husband Skip of Just Go! Leave the Treadmill for a World of Adventure. Her poetry collection, And the Clouds Parted, was released in November 2022. She lives in East Sussex, UK and can be contacted at www.GabrielleYetter.com or gabrielle.yetter@gmail.com