THE GUITAR PLAYER
There in a homeless shelter: blue tiled floor,
glaring fluorescent lights.
Black bag stuffed with sweaters, jeans, and jackets.
Upstairs, in the mission locked storage.
Upstairs, things out of sight.
She rents a curtained cubicle: A bed.
No chair, table, or framed oval mirror.
After breakfast, she hangs out on the streets.
My eldest daughter.
Bay windows. Pinewood door.
Red tile roof. River grass. Two apple trees.
The day her social worker takes me upstairs:
Elevator fourth floor, storage room.
“That’s all Marisa has,” she says.
In a black nylon sack: her electric guitar.
There at the shelter, on de Maisonneuve East.
No mortgage, or vegetable garden, or dishes.
Streets where she sits in coffee shops.
My eldest daughter:
St. Mary’s hospital psychiatric outpatient.
Eyes glazed and hollow. The fatigue.
Recurrent pneumonia.
Scarring lung sarcoidosis. Melancholia.
Once, she owned a house:
Bay windows. Pinewood door.
Red tile roof. Tall river grass —Apple trees.
A woman who lost her children.
Two daughters and one son.
Youth Court declaring her:
“An unfit mother!
Sole custody for father.
Supervised visiting.”
She rents a curtained cubicle: A bed.
No chair, table, or framed oval mirror.
Photo Credit
Guitar – Flickr Creative Commons. Some rights reserved by Paul Dotsulenko
“Marisa and her three children” courtesy of Ilona Martonfi
Guest Author Bio
Ilona Martonfi
Ilona Martonfi A first book of poems, Blue Poppy, was published with Coracle Press in 2009. A second collection, Black Grass, (Broken Rules Press) published 2012. Poems have appeared in Vallum, Accenti, The Fiddlehead, Serai, and various other magazines. Poet, editor, teacher. Founder and producer/host of The Yellow Door and Visual Arts Centre Poetry and Prose Readings, co-founder of Lovers and Others. I won the QWF 2010 Community Award.
Blog / Website: https://profiles.google.com/
Recent Guest Author Articles:
- Caring for Your Aging Dog: How to Make Their Golden Years Comfortable
- 5 Tips on Starting and Growing Your Coin Collection
- Creative Uses for Your Garage Beyond Car Storage
- How Difficult is it to Pivot Nursing Careers Without Needing an Additional Degree?
- 3 Vital Elements That Affect Payout Timelines in Mesothelioma Lawsuits
This is a great poem. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
Really moving and powerful piece. It’s amazing how much story you were able to tell with so few words. Thank you for posting this.
Hi Ilona,
Very moving poem! The photo of your daughter and three kids makes it all the more powerful. She almost looks like one of the children, I am assuming she is the one in the blue top? It must have been very difficult for you to watch your daughter struggle with her illness.
Thank God we have writing to keep us sane.
Thank you for posting Ilona.
Martha
Such a powerful, touching piece, Ilona.