Topographies

An egret with a fish speared on his beak.

Not your hands wringing out the wet corner of a shirt.

 

Steam from a shower that belongs to our mother.

Not a fire scrubbing us all.

 

A branch leaning too hard on a fence.

Not a mailman reaching for letters we write our parents who can’t read anymore.

 

Balancing on one leg, our hands over our heads waving at the end of swells.

Not a broken flag in our neighbor’s yard.

 

Our mother’s body.

Not our mother’s body.

 

Our father’s body.

Not our father’s body.

 

A grief come to our shores.

A landscape breaking.


Also by Jenny Sadre-Orafai

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