B Flats in the Belfry
Let’s start the day this way
Eggs, fresh from our bantam backyard coop
One lone feather clings
Sticking still to the pale pink shell
Damp and new
Poached on toast, wheat
Seven on the toaster setting
Vinegar water smells of childhood
Methods of perfection, left and right
Sunny side up for you
Yoke the color of the tangelo lodge in the stocking toe
With peppermints, all those Christmases ago
Napkin in lap, just so
Rhythms of death due us part
Me, part you
We two
Still two (repeat the note for emphasis, an echo of our love)
Ask Alexa to play Diana Krall
Loud-soft, the way I like it, bluesy
Better yet, unplug the wires
The ones that entangle
Cut it off, cut the chords
Let the chorus enter in from out of doors
Through a window, cracked
And open
Tell me your secrets
I’ll tell you mine
And lay my cards flat out on the table
(Strike a note of honesty)
Beside your yokey fork tines
Cracks let in early light
Morning breaks through the edge of night
Can you hear the sound of nothing tip toe in?
Bow your head, now let’s begin
I watch you break your perfect yolks
So carefully, so carefully
Music from the belfry
Soundtrack to a simple life
Love was patient, love was kind
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
B Flats in the Belfry originally appeared as part of a recent collaboration with artist Laurie Brownell McIntosh. As artists, we combined poetry and visual art in an exhibition at Kershaw County Fine Arts Center entitled “Environmental Abstractions.”
Follow Laurie’s art on Instagram @northlightstudio803
Follow my words on Instagram @elizabethwynnemarshall and Twitter @ewynnemarshall
elizabeth w. marshall 
Ooooh, so good.
Love this: “Yoke the color of tangelo lodged in the stocking toe/with peppermints all those Christmases ago/napkin in lap, just so”
AND: “Cracks let in early light/Morning breaks through the edge of night/Can you hear the sound of nothing tip toe in?”
Elizabeth, Your poetry is so lyrical and edifying – thank you for sharing this offering:)
Gratefully,
Katie
Thank you Katie. Your words are so generous. Grateful to have you following along. It’s a gift. Would love to have you subscribe to my monthly email letter. Your encouragement is always a sweet spot in my day.