Two Poems

Réka Nyitrai

Shadow work

A magician saws my husband in two

and opens him up to the public.

In his cavities there are no doves or rabbits,

but a plantation of dwarfed, potted trees.

There is also a salesman.

He approaches me and tries to flirt.

He tells me I have doe eyes. Then,

in a dash, my husband's stomach closes up

and I am trapped.

I cry out for help, but no one hears me,

except the salesman, who says:

everybody is having more fun than you,

especially in bed.

The many ways of being afraid to face the truth

On my way to the therapist

I can't think of anything, save my need

to talk about my marriage.

However, when I sit down on the sofa

I find myself making things up...

I tell of blackbirds pecking at my window,

a pillow that feels like a feathered spaceship,

and the boat I have watched sail down from the sky.

My therapist looks me straight in the eye and says:

Monday is the best day to sign up to be an astronaut.

Réka Nyitrai is a spell, a sparrow, a lioness's tongue — a bird nest in a pool of dusk. She is the recipient of a Touchstone Distinguished Books Award for 2020 for her debut haiku volume "While Dreaming Your Dreams" (Valencia Spain: Mono Ya Mono Books, 2020). "Moon Flogged", her full length poetry collection was released in September 2024 by Broken Sleep Books.