3 poems by Bill Costley

3/shorts
for Claire Craven, nurse

Beyond both

Raised to see her guardian angel
dressed in flowing white,
she wears crisp white to work,
knowing there’s more to it than
whiteness: brightness, brilliance,
but beyond both, what?

WMGA-FM

When my guardian angel
strips for a shower, is its
ramient hung up to air/dry?

When my guardian angel
comes back, too full of glory,
is it much too bright to tell?

When I tune to WMGA-FM,
What (if any) angel’s on for me?

“Still the same?”

When I bring these images
down to the page,
are they still the same?

When you read
what you see here,
is it still the same?

When someone reads
this over your shoulder,
is it still the same?

(06 MAR 04, Wellesley MA)