Arianna Pozzuoli (b. 1980)
SELECTED POEMS
The Unfinished Line
A bridge doesn’t get to decide who is allowed to cross.
It doesn’t favour those who have come a long way
or still have far to go.
Everyone is welcome to walk down its path.
In the eye of a storm, when the wind raises its hand,
it can break a bridge in half.
A broken bridge can’t fix itself unless the bones of a tree
or the stones in a stream
weaves a way for you to cross.
Most people set out to cross the bridge they’re on.
They treat the end like the finish line.
But what about the unfinished line?
Some just want to meet others in the middle.
Meeting half-way is harder than reaching the end
especially when the person you’re meeting
has trouble counting steps.
We once sat down to have the talk.
I had to be careful about how many steps I would ask you to take
to meet me in the middle.
Two is too little, five is too much.
I had to convince you that three steps
were enough to re-build our relationship.
I brought the tools that I thought would lay the foundation.
I brought love and forgiveness.
I threw away the attendance sheet that kept track of how many days
you missed in my life.
I brought tolerance
because I knew that you would be smoking
and half-see my heart beating over a cloud of smoke at the table.
You always half-see everything
never eye to eye,
so it made sense to me
to ask you to meet me in the middle.
My only expectation
is that you would meet me at the unfinished line.
When I extended my arms
and said to you, “What about meeting here first?”
You looked at me and told me
that you didn’t have the time.
When I closed my arms,
instead of the wind
it was my tears that broke
the bridge in half.
There were no stones to cross the stream.
or branches to make a path.
Now our visits are far and few in between.
I can hear it in your voice how much you miss me,
how you wish I would call more
but you were the one that closed the door
unhinged any chance
of us meeting in the middle.
I have considered handing you a piece of paper
with a line half drawn.
But when I see you now
I have no interest in breaking you down
or bartering with your steps to change.
Whether I like it or not
this is our path.
by Arianna Pozzuoli
