Vol. I No. III |
March
2000
|
The
Danforth Review
|
|
Salamander by Robert Pierre Tomas Four years. Two elbows. Two knees. Two pockets, forever wiggling and alive. As the "quieter" of my father's children I was never up to much. Just those four years, and the wind In my ears. Just those two elbows, Forever bruised. Just those two knees Always bleeding or scabbed. Just those two pockets, full of monsters. Crickets, perfect for my sister's pillow. Mice, more scared than my Gran, peeling Potatoes in the cellar. AND THE SALAMANDER. It was not pretty. Or rather was in a Creepy sort of way. Black and slimy, with The bright yellow patches of poisonous Skin. So soft a skin. I could not hold it any other way, only By its tail. Upside down. Struggling to Break free. Breaking free, breaking away. Breaking off its tail. I did not want to hurt it. I did not know it Was so delicate. I did not know its tail Would break. I did not know it was a SALAMANDER. Only four years and so much pain. Only two eyes and so many tears. Only one mouth and yet so much crying. FOR THE BROKEN SALAMANER. Dad knows all. He knows, how to Heal it. He knows, how to glue the Tail back. Clutched in a small fist, The tail still moving. THE SALAMANDER LOST IN GRASS. Dad knows all. He knew the salamander. And its bag of tricks. Dad was the college Graduate. He could spell the big words- like "regeneration". So the salamander fooled me. No wonder My four years versus the evolution's millions. So it will grow back its tail. Until we meet again. Me, and the salamander. I wish I could meet it now, some three decades Later. I would ask just one question. Why my Wounds do not heal. Why there is always A phantom pain. OF ABSENCE. Why are the scabs so fragile, why the scars So tender to touch. Sensitive even to the Caress of fleeting memories. Why am I so UN-SALAMANDER. I dreamt of you last night. I am not a salamander. The scars on my soul are hurting all over.
Robert Pierre Tomas is a Toronto broadcaster and writer. He writes poetry and fiction in English, his third (or fourth) language. Currently he is writing his second novel, "The Swimming Grass," under the tutorship of D.M. Thomas through the Humber School of Writers program.
THIS WORK IS COPYRIGHT OF THE AUTHOR.
|
|
THE DANFORTH REVIEW IS EDITED BY MICHAEL BRYSON. |