If you search for “poems about broken arms”you’ll find the words of amateurs,mainly,But who is a pro at this?Are the missing plums from the iceboxA metaphor for the ligamentPulling my bone until it snapped?Snapped,Forgive me.Forgive me? They were soSoSo I’m going to ask you a lot of intrusive questionsAnd I’m so sorryI just don’t wantContinue reading “fractures (with apologies to william carlos williams)”
Tag Archives: grief
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A pair of fading bruises the size of thumbprintspaint my inner thighwhere you once marked me as yours,though you were never mine. kfw 2024
Arnika
I claw at the ragged edges of sleep,curled up in a ball on the cast-off loveseatat the end of my bed,while you sleep soundly, legs akimbo,on the mattress. What conversation is there to be had?What rest is there to gain? I loved until my lungs were bruised.I loved until my blood ran clear. I’ve nothingContinue reading “Arnika”
Quiet Point
On Thursday, between work at one of my on-campus jobs and my one class of the day, I received a message from my doctor following up on a routine mammogram. I would need to make another appointment with the imaging center, because they needed “additional views in one area of the right breast,” but “notContinue reading “Quiet Point”
On all the little altars
Where the saints are grāmadevatās,and Jesus, a bodhisattva,I bathe youin my tearseach night.Each dayI scrapemy calloused fingersas I string,string,stringjasmine,marigold,oleander,to adorn your memory. kfw 2022
abscission
The last leaves fall like reluctant fledglings pushed from the nest. We stood beneath them as they were birthed in the Spring, budding forth a silent audience to our entwined unburdening. Now they rest beneath my feet, holding a hundred and one unspoken griefs; gently releasing them as I walk away. kfw 2021
Departures
i. Hiking alone, I venture out onto the creek’s rocky outcrops. The water rushes beneath the rocks, beneath my feet, as the birds air their murmurings. The late-Spring breeze twists around my legs, raises goosebumps on my arms. Half a dozen swallowtails dance above the creek’s surface, then part and return, flying past me asContinue reading “Departures”
Heresies and other liberations
[I do not identify as a Christian in any traditional sense of the word (and many Christians would not have me, even if I did). Still, there will be a lot of a speaking of, about, in and through Christianity in this piece.] I was taught to pray long before I ever stepped foot inContinue reading “Heresies and other liberations”
hinges
She tells me10 minutes a daymight help — of mindfulnessof meditation — I rememberbefore leaving bed this morningknowing that if not nowI may not have a chance,The house is neverthis quiet I set the timeron the appand try to sitthe wayTeshinshowed usin the zendowhen I chaperonedthe kidson theirneighboring faithstrip,though I know I’ve got the armsallContinue reading “hinges”
Preemption
All the thingsyou’ve grievedbefore they’re gone—The tears wept in advance— Come. Place them on the bier. We’ll set them out to sea,Aflame. kfw 2021
Undusted Corners 