From a hospital bed
certain kinds of wind in the blue-green disbelief of your misfortunate and persistent incursion into the unreality of bones blood sinews, the parts of the body belong to the…
Balling Yarn
It won’t stay balled, this slick rayon. Thick thread, I’d call it, rather than fine yarn, the grey and green variegated viscose I wind. Greys of battleships and guns,…
Ladies Union
Ladies Union Circle, First Congregational Church, Nantucket; founded 1846; oldest, still active, ladies church group in the US. Even before I read why they were formed, there’s my…
Henry Clay, 1851; Lake Erie
Baled wool washed ashore for weeks. At first, the appearance of each bundle was sobering and macabre, but after a few days, one woman began to look forward to…
Omar D. Conger, 1922; Black River
The Omar D. Conger was docked in Port Huron, Michigan when a boiler exploded. The ship was blown to pieces. A 200-lb radiator plummeted into the Falk Undertaking Parlors during…
The Idea of Throwing Tires
Light goes a long way on its oil, while the men are still throwing tires two in a hand onto steel carts, stacking tires six high in rows, then…
In Her Hive
I think of her during the colony’s collapse— loyal, responsible, confused, steadfast in her hive— after her drones exit, leaving her with little bees, unable to ask: Where…
Words, No Words
There was an island in his chest, and he called it “son.” There was a small boat capsized on the ocean, and he called it “faith.” Once, there had…