for Monica Dickens

one pair of feet, crossed at the ankles
one body, bent to the curve of a chair
one pair of hands, rested on an open book

of course, I would meet you here
in a room upstairs in this house
at world’s end on a November night

tell me, would you like some tea
a little warmth while we reminisce
about the last year you were young

I think it’s my turn to boil the water
and measure the chamomile leaves
I know you are only enchantment now

such is a book when it is closed

• Monica Dickens (1915-1992; England): novelist (several including One Pair of Hands, One
  Pair of Feet, Flowers on the Grass, The Room Upstairs, and Enchantment), memoirist (An Open
  Book), and children’s book author (including The World’s End series, The Follyfoot series, and
  The Messenger Series); great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens
• parts of the poem borrowed from some of the titles above

© Lisa Stice

Lisa Stice is a poet/mother/military spouse. She is the author of two full-length collections, Permanent Change of Station (Middle West Press, 2018) and Uniform (Aldrich Press, 2016), and a chapbook, Desert (Prolific Press). While it is difficult to say where home is, she currently lives in North Carolina with her husband, daughter and dog. You can learn more about her and her publications at lisastice.wordpress.com, at twitter.com/LisaSticePoet and at facebook.com/LisaSticePoet.