Still Life With Qualms, by Helen Freeman

Still Life With Game, Vegetables, and Fruit, by Juan Sanchez Cotan (Spain) 1602.

​Still Life with Qualms

I can not tell who moves beyond the gap.
The heady zest of lemon draws me close
but still I ponder and let time elapse.

Of course the string of apples is a trap,
the snag of vegetables in angled rows,
I can not tell who moves beyond the gap

and wonder what lies hiding in the black.
The punctured game, foul smell of deathly blows
but still I ponder and let time elapse.

I’ve counted clues and mapped the ledge for tracks
but light alarms the route and shadows hoax
I can not tell who moves beyond the gap.  

I pull the ivory knob and darkness snaps
with wafts of cinnamon a phoenix glows
but still I ponder and let time elapse.

Emerging stars reveal a vast expanse,
my wounded world discolours. Breathing slows. 
I can half tell who moves beyond the gap
but still I ponder and let time collapse.

Helen Freeman

Helen Freeman lives in Riyadh and Edinburgh. She has been published in several online magazines and supplements including with Corbel Stone Press, Ink, Sweat and Tears, Clear Poetry, Algebra of Owls, Ground Poetry, Your One Phone-call, Open Mouse and Sukoon.