New Poetry by Marianne Brems

One Fresh Start

I spill wine that darkens my carpet,

I know this scar,

like jaws around my throat 

will remind me daily of my carelessness.

I attack the stain with sparkling water

and vigorous rubbing.

To my surprise, all traces vanish, 

handing me one fresh start 

in a broken world. 

I return for a moment to a time 

before I learned my mother 

couldn’t fix the pain 

of skinned knees, 

before I knew that pieces 

fall into place only after many 

have not, 

before I found skin color

more of a constant

than the growth of tree rings,

before I saw a world 

where hate doesn’t disappear, 

it just hides under rocks 

until someone comes along 

and kicks them away.

- © Marianne Brems 2020

Marianne Brems is a writer of textbooks and poetry. Finishing Line Press will release her chapbook Sliver of Change in 2020. Her poems have appeared in literary journals including The Pangolin Review, La Scrittrice, The Sunlight Press, and The Tiny Seed Literary Journal. She lives in Northern California. Website: www.mariannebrems.com