The Covid 19 pandemic is isolating Alaskan writers. We can no longer attend workshops or public readings. The coffee bars where we met with other writers are closed. To bridge these physical gaps, 49 Writers is providing this on-line forum for Alaskans writing the distance. Inspired by T.S. Elliot, Tim Troll illustrates one of his poems with a painting.
April 2020
April is the cruelest month.
T.S. Eliot – “The Wasteland”
No change, the days continue
one, then another,
inseparable, the same
Overhead, the geese respond
the northern urge upon them
I do not look, nor care
they are not of this world
The water boils
I rise to fix another cup
of coffee
just to keep me up
Up? Cup?
There are no words
in this weather
no words to measure
the growing light
the easing grip
of snow and ice
or the warmth rising
from the dead land
as the earth
gives way to new life
Perhaps tomorrow
the words will come
or next April
Tim Troll waits in Anchorage for words to come.