BRIDGES AND DUST
today i'm sweeping up the crumbs
left behind by scurrying feet
sometimes i get lost in the swirl of dust
i remember the gritty wind
from the brick factory
and the woman in the courtyard
her hair was cut short and square
she wore outmoded soviet style lipstick
she did not smile, she did not frown
she flickered
while the children frolicked in the sand box
she was the afghan wife of a russian officer
we tasted the sand in our teeth
while the wind whistled between
twelve story cement towers
that's how our friendship went
i never told her where i was from
we hardly ever talked at all
but we were different than the others
who smoked like sailors
dressed like movie stars
we were bridges to a culture
which was slipping away from us
you could say, bridges to nowhere --
after my time in a moscow hospital
i cut my hair square and short
dangled myself and the wash out to dry on the balcony
tried to lose myself in the whirling dust
but it wasn't my time yet
not yet -- not yet --
while i still can, i say it's time to build bridges
but there's so much sand in our eyes
too much blood spilled
too little trust –
Jillian Parker's birth as a writer coincided with the diagnosis of her
fourth child with autism almost four years ago. This event has re-
shaped her life, and has caused her to re-think almost everything that
she believes. She believes it is important to spread awareness of
autism as a condition, and she advocates for early intervention for
children with learning disabilities. She fiercely defends other women
who find themselves vulnerable--because she’s been there. Since 1989,
her life has been tied to Russia through personal and family
connections (she is a translator), and much of her writing is inspired
by her time there, and by those connections. Other inspirations
include the natural beauty here in Alaska, her children, current
events, and the problems and delights of everyday existence. Jillian
has enjoyed watching the writer’s community evolve on Myspace, since
October of 2005, and that is where most of her writing is posted. She
has had pieces published in two anthologies, one of which is being
released through Copeland Books, and several online publications.
