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Third Place
Winner: Leila Kulpas
SHOES
Mother, you have been silent
for so long! Old patterns etched
into my brain crave
the sound of your voice.
I see you lift your hand to your face,
casually, as, one-by-one, a centipede
eases its ivory articulations
from your lower lid, drops
behind your left ear. That damn
thing went right through my eye,
you say.
But that is not you! You continue
to live in some fold of the universe,
floating on your hammock of young girl's dreams.
With all this technology, there must be a way
of finding your number
so that I can contact you.
Your voice, when it comes,
is thin as a string.
"Never get a white cat:
they shed on everything."
"Always measure ingredients
properly."
"Never leave the spoons
in desert glasses. Someone'll
be sure to knock them over."
Every day, your words grow more insistent,
until at last I understand. These were the things
you thought 1'd need to know-
stout shoes to see me safely
over life's stony paths.
Back to Feb 2007
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