Ann Privateer
Juniper
weighted against my chest, in a zerograv chair
on the patchwork lawn at dusk. my daughter
makes specs with her eyes, hands. calls the moon
an egg, tells me a bird is coming for the sun, screams
it into wildbirth and I wonder what she knows of
starbed & sproutwing. Of ashes and panic. in time she will
be able to name the places where I’ve secreted her
history: kidney. clavicle. leaflight. an amber brooch
in a cedar box. she is only, and I have given her too
much name: pinesmoke. gin. the ability to make holy things
unseen. suneater & everlasting. forgive me, I am
collecting the needles of her dreamspeak now
while she holds her stillfingered hands to my cheeks
neither feather nor flame consuming.
Sherre Vernon (she/her/hers) is a seeker of a mystical grammar and a recipient of the Parent-Writer Fellowship at The Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing. She has two award-winning chapbooks: Green Ink Wings (fiction) and The Name is Perilous (poetry). Readers describe Sherre’s work as heartbreaking, richly layered, lyrical and intelligent. To read more of her work visit www.sherrevernon.com/publications and tag her into conversation @sherrevernon.
Ann Privateer is a poet, artist, and photographer. She grew up in the Midwest and now resides in California. Some of her work has appeared in Third Wednesday and Entering to name a few.