Laura Rodley, “A Matter of Physics”

Laura Rodley, “A Matter of Physics”

Amy Lowell Prize Honorable Mention, selected by Sarah Audsley

Pushcart Prize winner Laura Rodley‘s latest books are Turn Left at Normal by Big Table Press,  Counter Point by Prolific Press, and Ribbons and Moths: Poems for Children by Kelsay Books, which won Children’s Nonfiction award at the 2024 International Book Awards. It has a trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PClY8G6HQwk.

A Matter of Physics

Through her tiny hand held in mine
surged the tremor to cross, intensely,
that the ton weight of thirty-mile-
an-hour cars, drivers texting on cellphones
would wait, that she could walk
through their metal as a spirit
untouched, that we would both
be transported safely, quickly,
much more quickly than waiting
for the walk signal, as we were,
and I believed her implicitly,
her belief surged through me,
her impatience, so much so
I had to consciously press my feet
to the pavement, bend down
to cup her elbow as well as her hand,
anything to stay grounded,
keep her safe, my body to the side
of the stopped cars in case
the driver spaced out, pressed the gas
as finally we crossed the road in Inman Square,
light years, on the way to the park
where she threw her body onto
the upright metal playground equipment
making it swirl non-stop.