Two Women on the Shore, by Dan Franch

Two Women on the Shore, by Edvard Munch (Norway). 1898.

Two Women on the Shore

Don't let her white dress
fool you,
in her mind; in her body
she burns

just witness
the flaming red hair
feet on green grass – fertile
ready to dive in

save for the anchor, that black shadow -
always that shadow -
mother, grandma, society, norms -
the time is 1898, Norway -
these are shackles that won't set her free

maybe, just maybe (let us hope)
it is herself stepping out of self
no longer blue but ready to be blue -

standing at the edge, on edge
willing to, wanting to, ready to
dive in.

Dan Franch

Originally from Chicago, Dan now lives in the country of Estonia. He was a newspaper columnist in Luxembourg, a co-cartoonist in Luxembourg, and has published articles and poetry in a number of online magazines. He has had a variety of experiences through traveling and living abroad, now doing the best to settle down in the homeland of his wife and kids.