Poems
by Richard Schnap

 

Exposures

 

She passed by a toy shop

And saw a little girl

Reflected in the window

With a smile that seemed drawn

 

Then a jewelry store where

A young woman looked back

Wearing a gold necklace

Wrapped tight around her throat

 

Next a small boutique

With a lifelike mannequin

In a black leather jacket

And a long linen shroud

 

And finally a salon

Mirroring a model

Whose lips were wide open

But whose eyes were shut tight

 

 

 

Bequest

 

My mother refused

To be buried by my father

And willed that her tombstone

Bore just her maiden name

 

So now there’s a space

That divides both their coffins

Reminding me of how

They slept in separate beds

 

But when I go visit

On birthdays and holidays

I can’t help but notice

The grave reserved for me

 

And if I may someday

Choose to be cremated

Let my ashes be scattered

Where lovebirds weave their nests

 

 

 

Phantasm

 

She first beheld him

In the back of a bus

As if it was a seat

Reserved solely for him

 

As the light in his eyes

Burned red like the sun

That seemed to be rising

And falling at once

 

And the closer she came

The farther he appeared

Like an Impressionist painting

That faded when approached

 

Until he became

Nothing more than a shadow

Slowly disappearing

Back into his night

 

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