That time
early Sixties
sitting outside
the squeaky lawn furniture speaking up
Kate gesturing with her wine glass
her lipsticked mouth forming words
red on red, glittering away,
catching the eye.
Really, I should get married?
I challenged, tap dancing for time
but already forming my silent refusal
never to be voiced—
so I can become part of this club,
the true-blue girls
with their afternoon ritual
here in the walled garden?
Published in Cider Press Review, Volume 28, Issue 2.
Susan Eyre Coppock is a retired French teacher. Her poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Nixes Mate, Paterson Literary Review, Lips Magazine, and others. Her poem “Other Falls” was a semi-finalist in the 2024 Orchard Street Press Poetry Contest and appeared in their journal Quiet Diamonds. Her poem “Playback” won second prize in The Prose Poem 2025 contest.
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