Tuesday Poem: “Between” by Rhian Gallagher
Between
I
Close in and distant, you had me
kite on the cord of your touch,
whichever way you moved
I was swept, arrested,
twin to your anthem.
II
Between question
and response, between poise
and disarray
in slants of London light
in the autumn voice of Joni Mitchell
mid-passage, on our walks
across Brooklyn Bridge
between one country and another
two zones to every hour
body in to body, that fit,
between the letting go and hold,
your hand all night upon my hip.
(c) Rhian Gallagher
Published, Bravado 15
Rhian Gallagher attended the Original Composition course at Victoria University of Wellington, before moving to London where she completed a BA at London University, and Post-Graduate Diploma in Printing and Publishing at the London School of Printing. Her first collection, Salt Water Creek, published by Enitharmon (London) in June 2003, was short-listed for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection. Rhian is currently living in her hometown of Timaru and working on a second collection.
I read this poem in Bravado 15 and loved it; otherwise I will let the poem speak for itself, which I feel it does very well without any aid from me …