Live Encounters Poetry & Writing Volume Two November-December 2024
Along the way, poems by Fotoula Reynolds.
Her compliment
in a wordless moment
softness in her breath
she looked to the sky
the sun held her eyes
her freedom unlocked
no longer displaced
with a long purposeful stare
she looked straight through me
and found my soul
‘What does it look like?’ I asked
‘like an enduring flower
a gift from God,’ she said
i’ve never been told this before
i didn’t know how to receive
these words
i am not a gardener
but in my garden’s heart
i planted the seed of humility
and accepted the giving of
her compliment
Along the way
the big hard sun
won’t leave me
alone with you
inside my mind
thoughts bleed
like a bruised plum
dripping, trailing
on this road
i walk the hours
it takes to make
a garden grow
the moon shows up
like a brand new friend
fearless in the dark
the patch is bare
my heart lays low
without seeds to sow
no vegetables will grow
all seasons purple
as I long for that warm
september glow
for the sake of love
I hold you in new truths
upon a time, the bones of
once told, old stories die
and I hear them in the now
in the desert as plain as salt
where souls freefall in sound
your affection falls on gravel
fragmented and displaced
i am broken alongside you
we are forever dreamers
travel companions in life
braided by air and sky
guarded along the way
© Fotoula Reynolds
Fotoula Reynolds is a writer of poetry, born in Australia of Greek heritage. She is the author of four poetry collections and is published widely in journals, reviews and magazines. She has been anthologised multiple times in Australia and internationally. Fotoula was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2019.