"Forage" by Perrin Clore Duncan
William Ellison by Michele Reese
You were invisible
in the High Hills
until I found you
on a bookshelf in Ohio.
Now, I know
which bend in the road
your slaves harvested corn
for the Confederacy,
which pew your family bought
at Holy Cross,
what your name was
before your manumission.
We are all slaveholders.
In each of us an ego
deserving a better life
because of inheritance, intelligence,
hard work or godly living.
We own souls.
I wish I knew their names.
in the High Hills
until I found you
on a bookshelf in Ohio.
Now, I know
which bend in the road
your slaves harvested corn
for the Confederacy,
which pew your family bought
at Holy Cross,
what your name was
before your manumission.
We are all slaveholders.
In each of us an ego
deserving a better life
because of inheritance, intelligence,
hard work or godly living.
We own souls.
I wish I knew their names.
Michele Reese is a professor of English at the University of South Carolina Sumter. Her first book of poetry Following Phia was published by WordTech Editions. Her poetry has appeared in Congeries, The Paris Review, Poet's Lore, Smartish Pace and other literary journals.
Perrin Clore Duncan, from Oklahoma, graduated from DePauw University in May 2017 with a B.A. in Economics and Studio Art. Her work has been shown and published in Ireland, the United States, and worldwide through online publications. Perrin currently pursues her M.F.A. at the Burren College of Art in Ireland.
Visit her on instagram at @perrincloreduncan.art or at her WEBSITE.
Visit her on instagram at @perrincloreduncan.art or at her WEBSITE.
