"not betrayal" by Susan Solomon
Daphne Sleeps With Her First
Beneath the laurel tree he kisses me,
our breath, mixture of poppies and rosemary,
father observing from the window
palms pressed against the panes.
He lifts me there against the bark,
to sap and snakes.
Mother, he fells me.
Fells this nebula body of mine,
this arc of loss between my legs;
I could be a magpie watching from this tree
eyeing the pearls of his shoulders,
all that we polish together.
Would that I were a stream, Mother,
so I could take him down with me.
Beneath the laurel tree he kisses me,
our breath, mixture of poppies and rosemary,
father observing from the window
palms pressed against the panes.
He lifts me there against the bark,
to sap and snakes.
Mother, he fells me.
Fells this nebula body of mine,
this arc of loss between my legs;
I could be a magpie watching from this tree
eyeing the pearls of his shoulders,
all that we polish together.
Would that I were a stream, Mother,
so I could take him down with me.
Meggie Royer is a writer and photographer living in Minnesota who is currently majoring in Psychology at Macalester College. Her poems have previously appeared inWords Dance Magazine, Winter Tangerine Review, Electric Cereal, and more. In March 2013 she won a National Gold Medal for her poetry collection and a National Silver Medal for her writing portfolio in the 2013 National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Her work can be found at writingsforwinter.tumblr.com.
Susan Solomon is a freelance painter living in St. Paul, Minnesota. She also edits and cartoons Sleet Magazine, an online literary journal. Susan was recently laid off from her medical office job after 11 years and is now happily painting full time. She is a graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the same school that claims David Lynch as an alumni. To view more paintings, please visit www.susansolomonpainter.com
"not betrayal" first appeared in the collaborative chapbook so she had the world with poet Deborah Keenan (Red Bird Chapbooks 2014).
"not betrayal" first appeared in the collaborative chapbook so she had the world with poet Deborah Keenan (Red Bird Chapbooks 2014).
