Shownotes
Signs
Defne Kartal
I don’t believe in signs but I do
I beg for them daily, and when they arrive -
A postcard, a dog, a friend, a group of musicians, a Canadian -
i don’t do what I think they’re telling me to
what are signs for?
I don’t believe and I don’t know, I don’t know, so I don’t believe
Instead, I conjure up an image of you
Walking away through the crowd,
I follow you
Eyes closed in my bed
I hold you
I look in people’s windows, says the poet
I always, always, always do
Lion-faced truth-speaker
Nothing to see, if I can’t find you
but can anyone prove to me please,
show the signs to me, please
That my world has known you,
And the world as I know it, still holds you
in a corner where I don’t see, there you must be
(Here’s a solace: Object permanence)
What did you have for dinner today and who did you talk to?
You must have gotten my letter
did it break or mend something
And do you - believe in signs, the way I do?
ask for them find them hate them love them
ask for them again,
again
again
do you?
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One Poem Only submissions are open.
I’m filling the next chapter of One Poem Only and would love to include your work. Send me the poem you wrote and want the world to hear. New this round: if you’d like to read your own poem on the podcast, you can. No need for a perfect studio recording—just a clear audio file recorded in a quiet space. If you choose this option, you’ll submit your poem and an audio file of you reading it. Submissions close Thursday, July 30. I’ll respond by August 12. Whether I read your poem or you read it yourself, I’d love to hear what you’re ready to share.
