(after Alan Michael Parker)

Mary Salisbury

Here is your portion of heartache
and 3 a.m. anguish.
Here is your share of worry,
it might keep you up at night.

Maybe you could croon
your lullaby of laughter.
You could send a tall ship
with white sails,

any vessel to bear
such sorrow, let slip
the darkness.

In the envelope a pink petal,
the morning fog,
my name on your lips.

If I had a box big enough
I’d send you a blue feather
and a vase filled with tears.

Mary Salisbury’s poetry has been published in Calyx, Michigan Quarterly Review, and other journals. An Oregon Literary Arts Fellowship recipient, Mary earned her MFA in Writing from Pacific University.