“Now” by Rebecca Meredith

Visit 2River late next week to read the 19.1 (Fall 2014) issue of The 2River View, with new poems by S. L. Alderton, Jose Angel Araguz, Philip Belcher, Grant Clauser, Heather Derr-Smith, Howie Good, Robert W. King, John McKernan, Mariene Muller, Lynne Potts, and Teresa Sutton; plus new art by Rebecca Meredith. Meanwhile, enjoy this selection from the upcoming issue.

Mariene Muller

White Ocean Motel

In the White Ocean Motel
at night our parents drink beer and boil
a tall pot of clams. “I hate clams,”

I hiss. I hate the clam gun, the bucket,
the beach at 5 a.m. I hate the gray
surf breaking beneath a burden

of rain. They laugh in the kitchen,
fog the window with steam. Three
teenagers sprawl across sandy beds,

the oldest preaching again what God
wants. God wants to save us. Save me
from go-karts, from fourteen,

from nothing good to eat or ever
happening. “The night is far spent,
the day is at hand.” When they all

fall asleep, I test God – “Lift this coat
to that bed.” The coat stays.
I cannot see I am moving.