The Paddock Review

Chatham Hall 

 

A morose existence. Dolorous repose. 

I had known it in that green house. 

And then the brown. 

 

Something intangible. 

Lured into sadness. 

At the age of six. 

 

Looking for escape, 

I wondered pavement and the park. 

The molecules of my existence, corrupted. 

 

I could not help it then. 

I cannot help it now, 

And still I try. 

 

And when I think, 

when I muster all that’s there, 

In my interior, I think back to a girl. 

 

She sits on a stoop in Chatham Hall, 

much older. 

Unrecognized, it is not the first time, 

she asks me in for a sweet tea. 

….

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This poem is from the chapbook I do not remember what’s inside anymore by Veronica Tyler (Finishing Line Press), and can be found at https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/i-do-not-remember-whats-inside-anymore-by-veronica-tyler/

…..

Veronica Tyler is the pen name of an Appalachian-based author and poet, and former magazine columnist. Her work focuses on blending imagination with interpretation. Her debut novella, Paris, released in 2024.