Poetry Reading: READING A MAP, by Joanne Leva

Narration by Val Cole

READING A MAP, by Joanne Leva

Fall River. Smith Mills. New Bedford. Freetown.
A slow drive into charcoal blue. Silver
Beach. Ethereal Grey Gables. Frozen
Creek. Flying Horses Carousel. The wind

was whipping along the coast and you were
West Chop bent at the hip. Your arms cradled
dozens of Conque shells. And I was East Chop.
My arms full of shells, too. We were a mile

apart but still so connected. Looking
back, I think that sea air whipping and shells
falling from our arms were a kind of map.
A way of wandering we understood.

Heaven Heights. Pie-in-the-Sky Bakery