Leila Emery
A Postcard From Charles de Gaulle
Layover-weary, I sifted through the stacks
of tourist postcards.
The one I chose was in black
and white: an older couple,
probably late seventies.
The husband held
the woman’s hand
in both of his.
The wife looked standoffish,
overly cared-for; the type
whose mother always told her,
Marry a man who loves you more
than you do him.
Their bodies mimicked
the wavy curve of a sine –
one half leaning in,
one half pulling away.
It seemed as if
it was the husband who reached out
to his wife. It felt
somehow that it would always be this way
between them:
he who does the reaching.
Originally from Massachusetts, Leila Emery holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature from Smith College and a M.A. in Writing from Johns Hopkins University. A freelance writer and editor, she serves as the Managing Editor of the Potomac Review literary journal, and teaches English and Creative Writing at a Maryland college. Her work appears or is forthcoming in 24/7: A Caregiving Anthology, Abbey, 95Notes, and Advocate.