Account
by Laura Sheahen
First I was given the sun.
Recording this in my ledger
I accepted it.
Then I was given the moon.
I checked a square on a form
Filed it under receipts
And wrote an appreciative note.
Then five planets were delivered to my storeroom.
This inventory too
Was satisfactory.
Then the whole sky broke open and stars poured down.
My abacus faltered
My calculator grew dizzy
I put away my pens and register
And raised my singing hands
To greet them.
Recording this in my ledger
I accepted it.
Then I was given the moon.
I checked a square on a form
Filed it under receipts
And wrote an appreciative note.
Then five planets were delivered to my storeroom.
This inventory too
Was satisfactory.
Then the whole sky broke open and stars poured down.
My abacus faltered
My calculator grew dizzy
I put away my pens and register
And raised my singing hands
To greet them.
Laura Sheahen is an American poet currently living in Tunisia. Her poems have been published in Four Way Review, The Manhattan Review, Stirring, The Interpreter's House, and other journals in the US and UK. She has traveled widely in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East as a writer for international charities. She is researching Amazigh (Berber) literature from North Africa.