Today is the sixth annual Bloggers’ (Silent) Poetry Reading in honor of St. Brigid, patron saint of poetry.

Here is my contribution:

The Yellow Slicker
     by Stuart Dischell

On this fourth day in a row of rain
There is a sameness to the streets broken only by the odd
Brightly painted house—the way those who pass by
In tan or black trench coats look back at the girl
Wearing a yellow slicker. The yellow slicker,
A gift from her aunt who knew London would be wet,
Having lived there herself just after The War,
The Europe she had known transformed to a state
Of the mind, no longer Central but Eastern, far away,
Bombed-out, depopulated, at least of her kind.

But for a girl of nineteen with American thoughts,
Traveler’s cheques, a boy at home, a university
Address, the decline of the West compels less
Than each step she takes through the London rain.
Even these British so accustomed to their weather
Admire the girl in the yellow slicker, as if she
With her uncovered streaming blond hair might shine
As the only sun they will see all week. Now,
That’s the kind of history she likes to hear.

Feel free to participate on your own blog or Facebook page (or, if you like haiku or other short poems, Twitter) or to add a poem of your own choosing in my comments if you don’t have an online space you call your own.

My previous years of participation in this event have brought us poems by Jean Esteve, John Frederick Nims, Mary Oliver, Grace Paley, Heather McHugh, and Barbara Hamby, all of which are worth a re-read should you be so inclined.