CONTENTS
I: L’UNICO AMORE
II: BETWEEN O AND V
I never meant to…
Between O and V by Maria Scala
II: BETWEEN O AND V
I never meant
to
abandon you
without a warning.
You dwell in my
youthful past:
smoky basement of a pub
confessional
I bail out mid-stanza
the assault of February
on my lungs
but still I run
with you trailing close behind
‘la lingua’ that sweet
and sorrowful chant
born from the rhythm
of crunching snow.
When I finally made it
back to the big city
no one was the wiser
so skilled was I
at keeping my Ottawa
under wraps.
Do you know what it takes
just to conjure you up
from the chaos of my everyday?
Like coming last
in the marathon
that’s how it pains me
a finish of sorts
but where is the victory?