Elisabeth Murawski


Intermezzo

I carry this cane for effect.
Physically fit. No handicaps.

Strong legs. More of a fashion
statement. This one’s Irish

thornwood. A pleasure to lean on.
A hint of noir, machismo,

Brando in The Godfather.
I forget your name again.

Why do I do that I wonder.
I think too much.

Like Cassius,
but never dangerous.

Are you liking the play?
The critics rave.

I await the denouement,
catharsis. Ah,

there’s the bell for Act 3.
Tempis fugit. Heh, heh.

Ciao, sir. From the Italian
schiavo: I am your slave.

photo: James O'Gara

Elisabeth Murawski is the author of Heiress, Zorba’s Daughter (May Swenson Poetry Award), Moon and Mercury, and three chapbooks. Still Life with Timex won the Robert Phillips Poetry Chapbook Prize. Alias Irene will be published in October, 2025. A native of Chicago, she currently lives in Alexandria, VA.

ISSN 2472-338X
© 2025