Saigon-Ho Chi Minh City 2019
at Ben Thanh Market
a flower stall holds orchids
so purple, so blue, so pink
you believe you have landed
in a rainbow
where everything kind is possible
down the hall
a butcher lays out
livers, brains, hearts
a young man rolls by
his four-wheel oversized skate board
propelled with splayed
backward hands
a foot born in reverse
and only a stump below his knee
he looks up
smiles
bright as any sun
that creates rainbows
you wonder about forgiveness
the vendor’s fish
its forever accusing eyes
a
Maryann Hurtt lives midway between the Elkhart Lake Library (Wisconsin, USA) and the Ice Age Trail─ the best of all possible worlds. A retired hospice nurse, she often writes about resiliency, both in the natural and human worlds. Her poetry can be found in a variety of mostly regional print and online journals and anthologies. Aldrich Press published her chapbook, River, in 2016. Once Upon a Tar Creek: Mining for Voices, an eclectic collection of poetry, history, and graphics will be out later this year. Tar Creek’s water is orange.
© 2021, Maryann Hurtt
Halfway Down the Stairs 