The Rest

Portrait of Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood 1939–

The rest of us watch from beyond the fence as the woman moves with her jagged stride into her pain as if into a slow race. We see her body in motion but hear no sounds, or we hear sounds but no language; or we know it is not a language we know yet. We can see her clearly but for her it is running in black smoke. The cluster of cells in her swelling like porridge boiling, and bursting, like grapes, we think. Or we think of explosions in mud; but we know nothing. All around us the trees and the grasses light up with forgiveness, so green and at this time of the year healthy. We would like to call something out to her. Some form of cheering. There is pain but no arrival at anything.

Keep reading

Discover more of Margaret Atwood’s poetry.

Explore all poems

Readers

Reader discussion 2 comments

Add your reading ↓
Readers
2
Longest reading
Liliana Askabra27 words
  1. Katrin Canada

    Was thinking about a friend who is dealing with breast cancer.

  2. Liliana Askabra United States

    It didn't make that much sense. Um, try a little more imagery and explain more of what the girl is going through. I didn't really understand it.

Your turn

Shown with your comment.

Never published. Only so we can reach you.

Comments are read before they appear. See our terms.