Thaathaa
My papa’s papa used to run after the wooden cart of prasadam
each dawn for food
Young feet bleeding over the rough road.
Bestiary
All my life I’ve wanted to knit an aardvark
not this endless succession of zebras—
black and white wool seems sterile
and the stripes never come out lifelike.
For a Robot
Image: “Yellow Flowers” by Carla Paton. “For a Robot” was written by Alison Bailey for Rattle’s Ekphrastic Challenge, September 2023, and selected as the Artist’s Choice. (PDF / JPG)
To the Woman Who Shoplifted My Black Dansk Clogs
To the woman who shoplifted my black Dansk clogs
from the consignment store where I sometimes browse—
because maybe there’s a sweater
that belonged to someone who
The Bittern at Abbott’s Lagoon
the walk to the sea belongs to the sea
we are drawn on as waves are
the late light is sidelong
a glance at a party
passed from one guest to the next
In My Heart
Here’s the secret: nobody knows
what the moon is made of. Nobody
understands our bodies’ common cheese …