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April 26, 2009
Deidre Doyle and Mary Fosher chose Helix, a poem by poet Troy Casa, winner of the 2009 Merrimack Public Library Annual Poetry Contest.
Helix
Not what he meant to say.
Not even close.
I understand some men’s dilemmas:
chivalry and pestilence,
a helix bread in their sternum
after a thousand years.
I understand my dad’s metallic tongue
that had to give reason
to the studded-belt-bent-over-knee
fourth course of a three course meal.
And I can stomach this lineage of men
and their derelictions of duty:
their lying lover’s apology,
the stitches and welts.
But still,
it’s
not what he meant to say.
Not even close.
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