PARENTHESIS by Ellen Phethean

When she had that look in her eye,

pondering a place I couldn’t see,

I’d push my fingers into the corners

of her mouth, making little creases

at the edge of her lips, like parentheses;

her smile qualified, like her replies

to my questions: Life isn’t fair.

I thought she was trying

to aggravate or mystify.

Now I know she was preparing me.

'Parenthesis' from Breath, Flambard, (2009). Reprinted by Red Squirrel Press, (2014).
Printed here with the kind permission of the author, Ellen Phethean.