Claudia Gary
How to Carry the World
Not on one shoulder—
try a wheeled briefcase,
vest pocket, even
under your hat.
Now that it’s there,
don’t tell a soul
lest it distract them
and fill them with angst.
Since every other
word you pronounce
carries the ashes
and ghost of its neighbour,
how to re-steady
phrases that fall,
answer their cries,
get them to sleep?
Walk with a parasol,
banishing glare,
keeping your ward
safely at hand.