Annmarie Lockhart and Bridget Fahey O’Brien

Bridget Fahey O’Brien

Clairvoyance

Inspiration Piece

What the Girl Sees

By Annmarie Lockhart

Response

.

There’s a girl in New York City, calls herself the human trampoline.”–Paul Simon

.

It’s been somewhere between forever and eternity since

I got out from behind the glass wall. But I’ve got this window

on the world of hidden stories and this crystal ball. And I can see

so much further than my legs could take me.

.

I see Joe every morning at 6 in the same black tee. He runs

north. An hour later he walks back, coffee cup in hand and brown-

bagged bagels (maybe half a dozen) under his arm. Later in the day

he walks the dog. And picks up the wine.

.

Sherri is my 9:45 am chime, Monday through Friday. A new outfit

every day. She uses my window as her mirror, twisting and turning

and tugging and I smile my approval. Then she shops. She never

comes back empty-handed; she never brings back groceries.

.

Luis strolls around like he’s got nothing else to do. He’s the arm

across the street for old Mrs. White and the stern-voiced NO for the

always-scrapping Baxter quints. He’s got a wife wasting to nothing

in the hospital and a habit for whiskey that won’t quit.

.

When they walk past I see their faces, when I look in the crystal

I see their souls. I know their lives better than they do. Their stories

bounce off me like bodies on a trampoline … but sometimes

they fly like angels flipping above a trapeze.

.

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2 Comments

  1. Posted May 30, 2011 at 4:56 pm | #

    Absolutely brilliant! It is quite disconcerting that a little innocent girl with big blue eyes and snow white hair can know so much.

  2. Posted August 21, 2011 at 7:56 pm | #

    This is amazing work. I don’t know how you did that photo, Bridget. I love the Paul Simon quote and the response piece. Everything works so well. Yes, I agree with Gracie — brilliant!