The Family Closes
The family closes ranks.
She was loved once
removed. Now
her reflexes grow poor,
yield to new fear,
as he becomes attractive.
Shame hurts the wholeness
in tired limbs,
no longer touched,
whose touchstone
has gone missing,
and may be replaced
by how it was
with all of them
before her, advancing
and in wait.
Between Sizes
Everywhere refuses
to be touched.
The softer often
of this mid-range
found by living
with prospective knowing
as though
the elements
had some choice.
Sheila E. Murphy is presently at work on a manuscript of new poems, in addition to creating a series of drawings for an exhibition. Murphy lives in Phoenix, Arizona, where she has led her eponymous consulting firm for the past 20+ years.