Canopy Literary Review
A Slice of Bernadette
She was named
for her mother’s best friend
and she acted like her too,
with lipstick armed and dangerous,
hopes brazen as spun gold
she was a goddess,
bright summer on her shoulders
but a brittle heart,
a bitter heart
she craves just one song
on the radio that hints
at forgiveness
and she needs forgiveness
just like her mother’s friend.
When asked about her name
she would answer en Français,
when asked a harder question
she would light a smoke,
look up, and wait for the smoke
to call down an answer.
Her lips were stained with hymns
and bourbon,
her dress was stained—
how many mirrors
will she have to say I’m sorry to.
Both Bernadettes lived their lives
like the girl with sad eyes
in the lingerie shop,
wallets going from full
to empty as they planned
evenings going from full
to empty, at the bar,
at anywhere, greedy palms,
wine loosened tongues,
brittle hearts.
Language of Love and Seasons
The sun has risen—
he speaks with words
old-fashioned and pure,
his language the love
of all seasons,
and how a fleece of fog
clings to autumn fields
and winter shores.
He loves her the way
their faces blush
after shared cabernet
her eyes like cornflowers
and wildflowers in spring,
days ending with sweet
sugars and laughter.
He loves her the way
the rising moon loves
the humility of silence.
She has no nouns to name him
but they sleep each night
with bodies touching
the last few degrees
of warmth
in the night sky
replaced by dreams,
and he knows without
a doubt that love
is in the vibrant colors
of sky and sea.
TOBI ALFIER won second prize in the Orchard Street Press 2026 Poetry Contest. Her credits include Arkansas Review, The American Journal of Poetry, James Dickey Review, Jerry Jazz Musician, Louisiana Literature, ONEART, Permafrost, Prosetrics, Ragaire, and Washington Square Review. She is co-editor of San Pedro River Review (www.bluehorsepress.com).
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