​It Wasn’t Bliss, by Matthew Murrey

Grey Lines with Black, Blue and Yellow, Georgia O’Keeffe (USA) 1923

​It Wasn’t Bliss

Too young for regrets, I had no clue 
what a chambered nautilus was, still our teacher
walked us through the spiral rooms of that poem.
 
First time I saw an O’Keeffe I was old enough
to know, but—inexperienced and naïve--
I thought that flower was just a flower.
 
I’ve scribbled my life with notes and reminders 
to the point where even I can’t decipher 
what I’ve written. What should I make of that?
 
I have lived long enough now to appreciate 
the unwinding of a shell, the way a brush touches 
a canvas, how words can cultivate a field of rue.

Matthew Murrey

Matthew Murrey is the author of the poetry collection Bulletproof (Jacar Press, 2019). Recent poems can be found in The Dodge, Bear Review, HAD, and elsewhere. He was a public school librarian for 21 years, and lives in Urbana, IL with his partner. His website is at https://www.matthewmurrey.net/ . He can be found on Twitter, Instagram and Bluesky under the handle @mytwords.