counter on blogger

Pickle Me This

April 11, 2010

the british museum

that first day in london,
we were so drenched
with exhaustion
we fell asleep
at st. martins-in-the-fields –
bellowing organ,
hard wooden pews,
congregation of office workers
at a lunch hour concert
and the two of us:
eyes rusted shut,
heads flapping forward
as if we were being rear-ended,
over and over,
by our own dreams

i think of that now
as you cover my ears,
my eyes to baffle light

i try to imagine
ever sleeping again,
let alone on a double-decker bus,
under creaking stairs
of a youth hostel
with no curfew

but in our bed,
late night or early morning,
scratch of eyelashes
on pillowcase,
constant movement
of my own chest,
half degree of heat
and i wake you
just to say i can’t sleep

you ask if i remember
the courtyard of the british museum:

we were weightless,
would have floated
if it weren’t for backpacks

room soft as a cocoon,
white as meringue
on a bone china plate

sunlight filtered
through a thousand trillium petals,
which we counted
before falling asleep
on a marble bench

-by Kerry Ryan

One thought on “the british museum”

  1. I love it when people write poems about places in the city where I live and should probably visit more often even though I don’t.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.


Manuscript Consultations: Let’s Work Together

Spots are now open (and filling up!) for Manuscript Evaluations from November 2024 to November 2025! More information and link to register at https://picklemethis.com/manuscript-consultations-lets-work-together/.


New Novel, OUT NOW!

ATTENTION BOOK CLUBS:

Download the super cool ASKING FOR A FRIEND Book Club Kit right here!


Sign up for Pickle Me This: The Digest

Sign up to my Substack! Best of the blog delivered to your inbox each month. The Digest also includes news and updates about my creative projects and opportunities for you to work with me.


My Books

The Doors
Pinterest Good Reads RSS Post