Rita Stranded in Ohio
John Grey

The fields are flat.
The sky is pale blue and distant.
A woman in a red house
is asking herself
what does it all mean.
A woman in a loose smock
pours boiling coffee
into a chipped white cup,
smears honey all over black toast.
The cup says, "Catalina Island 1964."
The toast crumbles in her hand.
What does it all mean.
Something she heard somewhere
that fits her case perfectly.
She imagines that the one
who said it
knew exactly what it all meant.
Where familiar things end,
the darkness begins.
Even in bright light,
there's only so much seeing.