OUR TRUE LEGACY

by Emily Black


He sits in his chair by our bay window,
sunlight streaming in over his shoulder,
a cup of tea by his side, the morning
newspaper in his hands.

I need to get the upholstery cleaner over.
Newsprint is beginning to stain the chair’s
arms. The pale coral of the area rug is faded
from the sun and nubby ridges show where

the heel of his loafer slides as he turns pages.
Living artwork is what we create day by day:
our movements, our habits, etch themselves
into the substance of our existence.

It is love that marks the hollow in a cushion,
and the ice cream stain that didn’t come
completely out of the couch, the stain marking
our anniversary dinner so many years ago.

These little traces of our love spilled out over
eons of melding our separate lives into one
are like the human remains found at Pompeii
mingled among the objects of their daily lives.


* * * * *

Emily Black, the second woman to graduate in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida, enjoyed a long engineering career. She began writing poetry recently and is published in numerous journals. Her first poetry book, The Lemon Light of Morning, was published by Bambaz press in 2022 and her second poetry book, We Feed Dragons to the Moon, by the same publisher in March 2024. Emily wears Fire Engine Red Lipstick.