Poem of the Month

Between Us

by Cicely Gill

You lend me a book,
you give me part of yourself.
It’s not just the print and the paper
but your ‘I liked this — I loved the way —
especially the beginning, the scene in the park —
those beech trees — and Stefan — his cruelty —
how could he have —?’
You became my companion
as I read, thickening the tension I felt —
your dread at the betrayal of Adrianna
becoming mine.
When you described it, I saw
how you’d been moved
and I felt it doubly, Adrianna’s pain,
knowing how these words harried you,
as if our feelings were turning over together.
I returned your book
with some reluctance.
Gave the weight of it into your hand
but then felt no loss: found myself
in possession of something permanent
though unseen, from the spaces between each page.