by Nicholas Johnson
When you came and sat on the edge
of my bed, lowered and raised your voice,
I knew your voice was the best medicine.
It conjured up visions of our recent holiday,
the houses spread out at random,
the jazzy blues of the meadows
where the inhabitants always awoke at dawn
with the tint of dawn in their faces.
In the small mirror
on the wall I could see the shape
of things to come, previews of coming attractions.
We kept going off separately but always
came back to what you called our
Contemporary Honeymoon –
where each day we could pick a few more
ripe apples from the crippled apple tree
we fought so hard to save.
Originally published in The Same, vol. 6, nos. 1-2, Edited by Philip Miller, Fall / Winter 2007, p. 1.
Nicholas Johnson (1944-2019) and Maureen Holm (1951-2005) were the co-founders of BigCityLit.
Maureen Holm was a poet, novelist, editor, literary translator, arts lawyer, and senior essayist and articles editor for Big City Lit. She lived in Manhattan. Holm received her B.A. degree in German Literature & Philosophy, J.D. in 1981, an LL.M in 1991. She served as translator/editor for UNIDO, IIASA, Simmering Graz Pauker A.G., Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna). She translated the German Bankruptcy Code for the OECD, and was an interpreter for depositions, hearings, and trials. Her commercial transactional and litigation practice focused on European licensors and manufacturers. She was a founder and co-producer of Lyric Recovery Festival at Carnegie Hall (a biannual of poetry-music).
Nicholas Johnson was the editor of BigCityLit. His chapbook, Degrees of Freedom, is available from Bright Hill Press. We encourage you to read our 20th Anniversary Issue, which is dedicated to Nicholas’ memory.