STIRRING
Founded in 1999, Stirring is one of the oldest continuously publishing journals on the internet.
Stirring is an electronic quarterly journal.
Founded in 1999, Stirring is one of the oldest continuously publishing journals on the internet.
Stirring is an electronic quarterly journal.
LIZ DAVIS
And I take it seriously when Sappho tells me the most
Beautiful sight the earth offers is whatever I love best.
What I love best can sometimes be a problem since
Stories live in my imagination, which is blue. I love the
Pictorial, pectorial tales of the Ancients combing their hair,
Never more beautiful than when they march off to join the
Horses at the front. I love the women who argue with each other
Over who is most attractive. How vain! How ridiculous!
I especially love the real-life way that real-life sightings of
Ancient fleets moves thousands. What happens inside
Their bodies? Electricity! Is the answer. Makes me want to
Watch the Olympics with you.
Did you know that right now people are cleaning the river Seine?
They’re floating atop paddleboards working with sticks and nets
For you and me.
Yes, I love stories, and I love you, too, but you are so mean!
And you hide your meanness so well, and that, too, is mean.
Today, I have a doctor's appointment in Astoria, and I leave angry!
I am carrying a blue umbrella—it’s an Aegean blue—and
I am so angry I don’t even open it. I don’t want it slowing me down!
But I stop in Athens Square, slick with rain. Statues of Aristotle, Athena,
Sophocles, and white columns like the Parthenon behind them.
What would Sophocles say about me? Would he say that
I am like Antigone, grieving at the grave of my lost inner male child?
Or would he say that I am like Jocasta? Dominating men by
Mothering their thoughts? Well, it’s more than one thing. I admire,
I grieve, I love, I envy. I sometimes recognize the envy, and I try to
Plant the flowers as opposed to vasing them.
But what was it I wanted to say about the color blue? Oh yes, I am
More than one thing and I love many things. I saw an after-dinner
Painting recently that made me think of you. All in shades of blue
The table is set in front of the Aegean—it’s a plain old table.
The chairs are pushed away, napkins are on the seats, empty
Bottles of Fix Hellas are scattered. All this blue leftover
Right in front of the azure sea forever. Isn’t that soothing?
Liz Davis is from San Antonio, TX. She holds an MA in literature from Texas State University and an MFA in fiction from NYU. Currently, Liz has several poems and two chapbooks in submission. She works as a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT), supporting children with autism through Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).
