Postcards from the Threshold with French Philosophies
Postcards from the Threshold with French Philosophies
Dear X,
Having a wonderful time in Prague. Wish you were here. (Not really.)
Dear X2,
The French have a saying: Just go ahead and faith will follow.
Having a wonderful time.
Dear X3,
Look for exoticism. I am. Just go ahead and faith will follow. Write yourself
into existence.
Dear X4,
I wish I could disappear into the landscapes and castles here. He told me: Just go
ahead and faith will follow. I haven't spoken to him before or since.
All these contradictory longings. The French have a saying: To learn another
language is to have a second soul. Praha means threshold.
Dear X5,
When you're countries away, it's easier to forget the things you wish you already had.
The edge of the city blazes each evening. But nothing's final, not even memories.
Dear X6,
Crowds swell in Stare Mesto. Was the nation ever comfortably communist?
Prosim. Prosim. Dekuji. Dekuji. I have perfected these.
Dear X7,
Like moss in the creases of basements in old houses, the nation in you
rises in preparation to confess. Just go ahead and faith will follow.
Dear X8,
Individual strengths can be short. Always remember to crack the windows
before nightfall.
Currently M.J. Golias teaches ESL in New York City. She has an MFA from the University of Memphis. Recent work of hers has appeared, online and in print, in journals including ditch, The Aurorean, Colere, Rhythm, The Fieldstone Review, The Fiddlehead, and in Pomegranate Seeds: An Anthology of Greek-American poetry. She has had one Pushcart Prize nomination.
