Deborah Saltman

Valerie and Lucy get civil

Lucy is rowing upstream
In the river of Valerie’s heart
Stroking new hope
And clearing away
The brackish thoughts

She is snug in the office
With two of her three girls
Sacha and the Munchkin
And besides Valerie is near

Valerie is unravelling Bolero
Her hands are on the keys
But her mind
Is restless
Crescendoing towards their tomorrows

And besides Lucy is near
Snug in her office
With the Sacha and munchkin

Sleep well tonight Valerie and Lucy
Let your vows
Roll the rings around your fingers
Like in rowlocks
Turning and tapping them
Again and again

Then in all the tomorrows
Be comfortable and converse
With your transformation
Marvel at the power
Of yourselves on a new road
And both say to this still earth: we flow




Born in Australia, Deborah Saltman is a lesbian doctor living and working across the Atlantic—London to NYC. After a scientific hiatus she has returned to her young adult love—poetry.