Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page.
Dinner Lines
By M.A. Dooley
Empty lines without a script,
Two old lovers sit stiff like bricks
Empty lines planked blue wood top,
Inviting ages of warmth and weight.
Warmth and weight, young bricks cool,
Purpose wanted held at bay.
Warmth and weight, mason’s hands
Stack staggered bonds, build a wall.
Build a wall, the server piles
Flowers, wine, the table splits.
Build a wall to be broken down
With drink, pleasure, taste and texture.
Taste and texture laughter blooms,
Edges soften like molten stone.
Taste and texture spills red wine
Dripping, seeping fills empty lines.
Empty lines, hushed hands held,
Old lovers’ warmth and weight meld.
M.A. Dooley is an architect and writer from the Santa Cruz Mountains, Sonoma County, and the Sierra Nevadas. Dooley has been published in The Write Spot: Musings and Ravings in a Pandemic Year and Poems of a Modern Day Architect, Archhive Books, 2020.