[Critique Group 1] Sally's March submission

[Sally Rosenthal]

                                                                THE PURSUIT

 

 

The novel I'm not writing

Won't leave me in peace.

 

Its rugged Cornish cliff paths urge me

To put on my Mackintosh, call my dog, and 

Set out for a walk in ever-changing weather.

Its two-up two-down stone cottages wait for me

To tend the carrots and parsnips in their kitchen gardens

And fill their window boxes with a profusion of yellow, blue, purple, and
pink.

 

Its plot of redemption and healing

With the moors, the turquoise sea, and a new tomorrow

Has added layers and subplots over the years.

 

Its characters fill my dreams and tap me on the shoulder

to remind me I hold their fates in my silent hands. 

While unloading the dishwasher, I wonder if Jenny will take up

Residence in the village or return to London.

I fold Laundry and hope the injured seal pup will survive

And that brooding Owen will find joy after great loss.

I spend a few hours on my computer looking up

Authentic Cornish pasty recipes for the bakery and cream teas so popular
with tourists.

I can't understand why the elderly woman with cancer

Tells me her name is Marjorie whether I like it or not,

But I want her to live to see the Christmas lights at Mousehole a few miles
up the coast.

 

I ask myself how a tale filled with light and love

Can feel like such a heavy burden to carry.

Perhaps it is time to set it down, make a mug of coffee,

And bring it all to life.

 

 
Sally Rosenthal

 

 

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