Painting Over Blue
By Mary Robbins
The sufficient shade we moved into
has become unbearable in your absence.
A swell I treaded as you dove -
the ocean where I lost you.
I am desperate to make this house
my own.
So, I wage a war on simplicity,
cluttering trinkets, crowding
books, bombing every surface
with my too-muchness.
I pull the heirlooms you hated
and arrange them by the window,
letting sunlight soak them
back to life.
I spend hours configuring
sliding puzzles against fresh white -
cherubs and willows squeezed among
watercolor women and star signs.
I pad and drape our bedroom in pink,
softening the space like wax on a burner.
I spread textiles across the closet,
the crammed folds of my garments
falling loose in new space
finally allowed to breathe.
I drag our mattress to the curb and
dismantle our bed.
I think ahead,
and face the new frame west,
guarding my gaze from falling
on the palm-drenched patio
when under someone new.
And still,
You linger in the shelves you built-in when you loved me
and the hole you punched when you did not.
I cannot watch a wren sleep on our porch eave
without sensing you beside me
or stop the letters from arriving,
labeled with our name.
Mary Robbins (she/her) is a previously unpublished poet from Raleigh, NC.
Artwork Source: “Andri’s Abstract,” Nuala McEvoy
Artist Statement: With abstract work, the journey begins for me with a blank canvas and finishes long after the paint has dried. Abstract works have minds of their own and tend to lead the artist along the path rather than the other way around. This piece ended up with Andri, who saw boats, which reflected her life of endless travel and living abroad.
Nuala McEvoy started writing and taught herself to paint approximately five years ago, at the age of fifty. Since then, her writing has since been published in several literary magazines and she has read her poems on podcasts. Nuala paints daily using acrylics on canvas. She started submitting her artwork for publication this year, and her paintings have been accepted for publication in over thirty-five literary magazines and reviews. Her art has been accepted as cover art for several of these reviews. She has had two exhibitions in Münster, Germany and is currently preparing an exhibition in London. Linktree
The Turning Leaf Journal 