qarrtsiluni

specere

bright ducks land
wings out onto watered mirrorglass
mercury flakes fall
as the wallpaper fades
year on year

a door is open in the house
the one thing that props the roof up
the fire smokes
draws
exhales another breath

outside the snow
and this room already far away
_____

speculum (SPEK-yoo-luhm) noun
1. A mirror used as a reflector in an optical instrument,
such as a telescope.
2. Speculum metal: any of various alloys of copper and
tin used in making mirrors.
3. An instrument for holding open a body cavity for
medical examination.
4. A bright patch of color on the wings of certain birds,
for example ducks.
[From Latin speculum (mirror), from specere (to look at), ultimately
from the Indo-European root spek- (to observe) which is also the
root of such words as suspect, spectrum, bishop (literally, overseer),
espionage, despise, telescope, and spectacles.]

hours

morning’s beauty has wrinkled
into cloud glower

snow shower
arrives

dark eyed
with the threat

of sharp stars
cold night

by Ivy Alvarez