[ And When I Leave Her ]
Everyone is standing on the bank
waiting
to receive the body
A mother says to her daughter, Not everything is pet
Different parts are sprouting
new life,
so tempting
to reach out and touch
But with such a raised palm there is entitlement,
there is
more than enough
to go around
Seldom tells her daughter, I don’t want to live with you
and the heads all turn, tongues laden
to stare
Kimberly Swendson is a poet and translator from Colorado. She received her M.F.A. in Poetry from the University of Notre Dame and her M.F.A. in Literary Translation from the University of Iowa where she held an Iowa Arts Fellowship. Her work can be found in ballast, Bruiser Magazine, and elsewhere.
The Marbled Sigh 