The Friday Poem: ‘Meryl Streep’ by Louise Wallace
Actress Meryl Streep addresses the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 26, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. / AFP / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
New verse by Wellington writer Louise Wallace.
Meryl Streep
1
Meryl Streep went nuts at me in the breakfast room, because
I’d taken her table by mistake. Have a lovely day! I wanted
to say as we left, but my husband, a calm and sensible man,
convinced me to take the moral high ground instead. It was
very difficult for me.
2
The next morning, as we were about to drive off, I saw Meryl
Streep walking towards our car. I groaned without altering
my face. I pretended there was something I desperately needed
in the glove box, but I put down my window when she
tapped. Her eyes were shimmering, seconds away from tears.
I’m so glad I saw you. I wanted to apologise for yesterday. Would
it be all right if I gave you a hug? I looked back at my husband
in the driver’s seat. He gave me a forceful look: Take the high
ground, Louise. So I took the easy option, opened the car door
and got out. Meryl Streep embraced me in the Holiday Inn
car park, my body unyielding like a pool noodle. Her tears
ran down my neck, and I shivered. I raised my arms from
the elbow, my biceps still pinned by her remorse. I could see
far and wide from the high ground. I patted Meryl Streep’s
back, half-strength.
From the new collection Bad Things by Louise Wallace (Victoria University Press, $25), which was launched with deserved fanfare this week.
The Spinoff Review of Books is brought to you by Unity Books
Louise Wallace
Louise Wallace is the author of three previous collections of poetry, with her next book This is a story about your mother forthcoming in 2023 with Te Herenga Waka University Press. She is the founder and editor of Starling, an online journal for young New Zealand writers, and she lives in Ōtepoti.
