FROM THE
DRIVER'S SEAT
Words and Drawings by Linda Bourke
When covid hit, I moved some drawing supplies to the passenger seat of my car and drove around Cape Ann, stopping at beaches and meadows to draw. I filled several sketchbooks.One day an artist friend and I went drawing together– we sat in our own separate cars, and every half hour or so, one of us would beep. We would hold up our drawings and then give feedback over our phones. Neither of us ever got out of our cars, but we had a great time together!You’ll notice the last drawing is from the week I could not find toilet paper anywhere…
I was on a roll.
Two Sisters
by Claire Keyes
For Alice
Leaning on a railing at the beach
you wore a white peasant blouse with coy, puffed-sleeves,
your wide summer skirt splashed with flowers.
For the photo, you tilted your head
to the left, a flow of blonde curls spilling
over your forehead.
Charm School taught you how to dress,
how to hold your head at the best angle for a photograph
so you can attract a rich man. Or else,
what’s the point?
You practiced on me.
In this photo I saved, you’ve posed me
on a chair in the backyard before I’ve found a shape
I can freely take on my own. My straight brown hair
pulled back and secured with a barrette, wide forehead
exposed, I sit on chair’s edge, skirt covering my knees,
legs folded at the ankles, lady-like.
On my feet, sturdy saddle-shoes.
You must have talked about the modelling career
you fancied, Cinderella’s slippers
fitting nicely on your feet. I imagine my seated self
as mute yet amused, my feet in those sturdy shoes
ready to fly, to race around the neighborhood
with my pals, puberty a distant, insignificant
cloud.
From Crosswinds Poetry Journal