The window stood open
The window which lay forever closed
Now stood open to the twilight
And the child pressed against her cheek
Spoke no sound nor cried out
Nor would she move
Bright cheek against a pale cheek
Neither moving but all quiet
Her hair golden shining in candle light
Against her mother’s cheek just so
And nothing to be done
While on rolled twilight
While the window lay ghastly open
Symbol to the future of that child
Exposed by each and every twilight hence
And still she held cheek to cheek
And still she lay still in fear
While the doctors watched their reputations
And the watches raced their hands around their faces
Raced and raced the quicker
And then the quivering “Mama!”
Trembled the eyelids of her mother
With a shadow’s shadow of a smile
Then twilight ebbed and all was calm
Todd Anderson (Stuff of the Rind, Sand and Sail, The Reluctant Prophet) writes the newsletter Mirth to share a behind-the-scenes look at his writing process as well as to offer readers the first fruits of his poetry and reflections. He grew up in the forests of small-town Ontario, contending against nature in all its beauty and harshness. His training as a literary scholar of Latin and English literature inflects his love of poignant turns of phrase, but it is the influence of his family and their myriad adventures together that infuses his story-telling and poetry with its substance and power. Todd lives and writes in Ottawa with his wife and six children. If you are interested in supporting Todd’s work, please follow the links below to donate or buy his books.
Todd Edward Anderson 