I saw her last night at dinner
in a tiara a few tables over,
fries the intermezzi
to near constant chatter.
I spot her sometimes:
tangle of black hair,
shock of green eyes—
faces nearly assembling
into a daughter I recognize.
I called a clot of cells Wylie Rose after my maternal
grandmother, Rose
and Wylie because I meant
to teach her to be sly,
to explode hazards sky high
so sparks might rain
around her radiant will.
Sick, isn’t it, that irony can
blossom in the womb?
It was a name I knew we’d
argue about—my spouse
leaning toward Elizabeth,
maybe Margaret. I know I said
I was through with the long,
long act of letting go,
but I have this perfect name
and no girl to give it to.
Sonia Greenfield (she/they) is the author of All Possible Histories (Riot in Your Throat); Helen of Troy is High AF (Harbor Editions); Letdown (White Pine Press), American Parable (Autumn House) and Boy with a Halo at the Farmer's Market (Codhill Press). Her work has appeared in the 2018 and 2010 Best American Poetry, Southern Review, diode and elsewhere. A 2024 McKnight Writer Fellow, Sonia lives with her family in Minneapolis where she teaches at Normandale College, edits the Rise Up Review, and advocates for neurodiversity and the decentering of the cis/het white hegemony.
