The Roommate
It’s early morning (morning prayer): I hear
Her in her room as now and then she sighs
Or groans or mutters out a word or two
(Quite indecipherable but flush with fear).
At first disturbing, now it’s no surprise,
A morning sound (as outside pigeons coo…).
I say a prayer that God might give her hope.
(She’ll soon be up and read her horoscope…).
Jeffrey Essmann is an essayist and poet living in New York. His poetry has appeared in numerous magazines and literary journals, among them Agape Review, America Magazine, Dappled Things, the St. Austin Review, U.S. Catholic, Grand Little Things, Heart of Flesh Literary Journal, and various venues of the Benedictine monastery with which he is an oblate. He is editor of the Catholic Poetry Room page on the Integrated Catholic Life website.
Thank you, Jeffrey, for this touching and intriguing poem. The compassion is tangible and makes me want to understand more about the inaccessible female subject. Best wishes, Bruce