Paul Hostovsky

The cat reclining
in the lap of the Deaf woman signing
to me

is like a sleeper on a train,
bobbing and tossing
in time to the movement

and the rhythm
of the sign language,
eyes closed, body

wholly relaxed and trusting
in the larger body
whose jolts and vibrations,

muffled chugging,
coughs and exclamations
are seeping

into the half dream
of the sleeping
passenger,

whom I can’t stop
staring at,
so that the Deaf woman stops

mid-sentence, miffed,
and asks me
if I’ve understood

a single word of what she said.

Bio

Paul Hostovsky’s poems and essays appear widely online and in print. He has won a Pushcart Prize, two Best of the Net Awards, and has been featured on Poetry Daily, Verse Daily, Only Poems, The Writer’s Almanac, and the Best American Poetry blog. He makes his living in Boston as a sign language interpreter. Website: paulhostovsky.com.