Author’s note: “As a narrative poet, the process of creating this piece was somewhat of a departure for me. Lately, I have been intrigued by absence—what is not visible, not said, not done—even my own mental absence from much of what is going on around me. This appeal to ‘white space’ is especially strong on the page. It allows readers to fill in the blanks, interpret, create their own meaning.“
I Am the White Space
that drifts through the bold and blackened strokes the breath
between lines silent witness on the lettered
page the pause that lasts too long the longing
that lurks behind each key the lonely hiss
of memory the land the ones who loved missing frozen
ghosts in weathered frames I am the ivory wind
the invisible wilderness eternal winter frost
that never melts bones that won’t decay all that remains
unspoken all that aches for meaning the promise of grace
⧫
Irene Fick is the author of The Wild Side of the Window (Main Street Rag) and The Stories We Tell (Broadkill Press). Both received first place awards from the National Federation of Press Women. Her poems have been published in Delmarva Review, Poet Lore, Gargoyle, The Broadkill Review, and The Blue Mountain Review. Her essays have appeared in River Teeth Journal, Schuylkill Valley Journal, and Hippocampus (forthcoming). She lives in Lewes, Delaware.
“I Am the White Space” was a runner-up for inclusion in the fourteenth annual Delmarva Review, to be released in November. The review publishes compelling new poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction from thousands of submissions annually by authors across the region, the nation, and beyond. As an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit literary publication, it is supported by individual contributions and a grant from the Talbot County Arts Council with funds from the Maryland State Arts Council.
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