A pane of glass separates us
in the arched window beside my bed
you on an artfully woven nest,
hydrangea-hung, I on a mattress.
Jewel on the wing in sunlight –
nest-bound now you warm your eggs –
and when we meet at the window
puzzlement faces delight.
Railroad tracks laid side by side
we spend our odd diurnal lives,
until you migrate in the fall
when I must take your loss in stride.
—
Irene Adler was a poet and English teacher in Palo Alto, California, where she was also a co-owner of the company that invented the Aerobie flying ring and the Aeropress coffee maker. By the time of her death in October 2023, she had written over 2,000 poems spanning 25 years. These were collated and curated for a posthumous collection, Bone Flute, which will be published in Spring 2025 by Paloma Press.
