Sarah Colby
Venus de Milo Reading
As the hair at my nape
curls into ringlets
you love to kiss
I read the remnant
of your name fingered
on the fogged mirror,
imagine your hands,
desert-dusted parchment
thirsty for the glide
of rich aloe
you scribed in circles
across my skin,
wonder what war
is writing on you.
Souvenirs
Looking for t-shirts
to bring home to your buddies,
we ride the hotel shuttle
to the mercado, step off
into marimba music
tinned from loudspeakers,
scents of salsa, chiles,
mariscos frescos con lima
drifting on the light
of garishly colored bulbs
looped in lopsided sways
over stalls where vendors
call a jumbled cacophony.
Inhaling sharply
you press your back to the wall,
pale in a chestnut-skinned sea,
eyes scanning below
your sweat-popped brow,
jaw muscle jumping,
weaponless hand twitching.
“I was recently asked why I insisted on writing war poems when the war is over. The question emphasized how, without headline-grabbing large scale US involvement in a combat zone, it is easy for military issues in this country to slip from awareness even though there are still deployments, still spouses, partners and families waiting and wondering, still after-effects that linger long and manifest unexpectedly, and still war in the world. Far too much war in the world.” —Sarah Colby
Sarah Colby is a military spouse and mother to a Navy son. Her experiences over more than 30 years motivate her desire to be a voice for the mostly untold stories of families and loved ones on the periphery of active military service. Sarah holds an MA in Art History and an MFA in Creative Writing from UNR Tahoe. She lives with her husband, a retired Army Chaplain, in San Antonio, Texas, where she mentors veteran/military writing groups and teaches writing in community-based programs.