Once upon a time
in a faraway Russian village
an orphan girl eloped
with the son of the butcher
who cursed them and said
he hoped they’d starve.
Tonight they’re here
in the community hall
in Beverly, Massachusetts,
surrounded by children and grandchildren,
celebrating their fifty years.
Beaming like a double sun
in the center of orbiting planets,
they sit side by side, holding hands
grown gnarled from labor,
he sporting a carnation boutonnière
and she with an orchid corsage.
Ruth Holzer is the author of ten chapbooks, most recently, On the Way to Man in Moon Passage (dancing girl press) and Float (Kelsay Books). Her poems have appeared in Blue Unicorn, California Quarterly, Freshwater, POEM, Slant and previously in Red Eft Review. She is a multiple Pushcart and Best of the Net nominee.
