DC Poets: Doritt Carroll

flight

to me traveling to other countries is as unlikely

as following the seven ravens

or picking a lollipop off the house

of Hansel and Gretl’s witch

so when you tell me you will go

and then come back

i blink back at you with the face

of a child who just got wise to Santa Claus

the hope of it followed by a quick stab

of disappointed recognition

Belgium to me is a mussel shell

a black snapped coin purse

with you in the center

and Venice is a handful of glass beads

tossed by sun against the water

so that they plink up, dotting the i’s of waves

i have no images for the rest

of the places you will see except                                                                                                                            

the train stations, clamoring gray music boxes

overflowing with wheeled suitcases and balled wrappers

and the airports, their rows of bolted seats

like the backbones of magic animals

you perched on the withers of the largest one, clutching fur,

looking forward

Doritt Carroll is (unfortunately) a lawyer and (fortunately) the mother of two daughters.  A native of Washington, DC, she received her undergraduate and law degrees from Georgetown University.  Her collection In Caves was published in 2010 by Brickhouse Books.  Her book GLTTL STP was published in 2013 by Brickhouse Books, and the title poem was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her poems have appeared in Coal City Review, Poet Lore, Nimrod, Slipstream, Rattle, Plainsongs, Folio, Gargoyle, and other journals, and she has served as one of the Shakespeare Theatre’s poets in residence.  She currently runs the Zed’s poetry reading and open mic series.