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Retrograde

  • John RC Potter
  • Jul 20
  • 1 min read

By John RC Potter


The closer I peered at the photo,

the more the images retreated.

A glimpse into the past, like a

black-and-white retro montage.

Stark and ominous leafless trees,

with branches like skeletal fingers,

reaching upward to the heavens.

Rolling hills in the distance:

Those bosomy apparitions,

mounds of earth, and yet,

seeming unnatural, not real. The

setting is park-like, but eerie.

Two women in billowing skirts:

The same, alike, and yet

different.

Doppelgänger. Gott im Himmel!

But there is no

God in Heaven,

for dual and duplicitous

ghosts and spirits;

even those in such

alluring skirts.

John RC Potter (he/him/his) is from Canada and resides in Istanbul. He works as a university counsellor at a private school in the city. The author has experienced a revolution (Indonesia), air strikes (Israel), earthquakes (Turkey), boredom (UAE), and blinding snow blizzards (Canada), the last being the subject of his story, ‘Snowbound in the House of God’ (Memoirist). His poems, stories, essays, articles, and reviews have appeared in numerous magazines and journals. The author’s poem, “Nie Wieder/Never Again,” and his story, “Ruth’s World,” were Pushcart Prize nominees, and his poem, “Tomato Heart,” was nominated for the Best of the Net Award. The author has a gay-themed children’s picture book scheduled for publication. He is a member of the League of Canadian Poets and the Playwrights Guild of Canada. Recent Publications: The General Store at Four Corners: A Novella by Subtle Body Press (print) & “Clara Von Clapp’s Secret Admirer” (online) in The Lemonwood Quarterly, Clara Von Clapp’s Secret Admirer – The Lemonwood Quarterly


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