Brendan Constantine is the author of four books of poetry. His work has appeared in many of the nation’s literary standards including Best American Poetry, Virginia Quarterly, Poem-a-Day, Prairie Schooner, and Tin House. His most recent collection is ‘Dementia, My Darling’ (2016 Red Hen Press). He has received support and commissions from the Getty Museum, James Irvine Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. He currently teaches at the Windward School and, since 2017, has been developing poetry workshops for people with Aphasia.
When You Can Get It
A woman went to the perfume counter and asked,
What scent says, I think it rained last night? The clerk
turned to her cabinet, put her hands on her hips, then
offered a small blue bottle. The woman put a drop
on her wrist. It smelled of jasmine and wood smoke.
There was also iron and something like mint, only
colder. No, she said, I mean I think it rained but I’m not
sure. The clerk consulted her bottles again, opened
a drawer by her feet. Finally, she went to a coat hung
on the back of a chair and dug in the pockets. She
withdrew something tiny and held it out. It was a gray
bird, wet and alive. Its throat flashed purple and green
as it panted. This is the last of it, she said.
A woman went to the perfume counter and asked,
What scent says, I think it rained last night? The clerk
turned to her cabinet, put her hands on her hips, then
offered a small blue bottle. The woman put a drop
on her wrist. It smelled of jasmine and wood smoke.
There was also iron and something like mint, only
colder. No, she said, I mean I think it rained but I’m not
sure. The clerk consulted her bottles again, opened
a drawer by her feet. Finally, she went to a coat hung
on the back of a chair and dug in the pockets. She
withdrew something tiny and held it out. It was a gray
bird, wet and alive. Its throat flashed purple and green
as it panted. This is the last of it, she said.
© 2019
Brendan Constantine
Brendan Constantine was a Featured Poet at the December 2019 Second Sunday Poetry Series
Brendan Constantine was a Featured Poet at the December 2019 Second Sunday Poetry Series