Epilogue, Late October

Kathleen McGookey

Kathleen McGookey

The oak holds its flickering leaves for one more morning.  The light no longer trembles when I take a breath, even though a car rattles toward me down the long dirt road.  Is it over?  What harder part is still to come?  A deer pauses but the frayed cornstalks can't hide the sheen of its body.  In the field beyond the trees, a sandhill crane ripples a wing.  I only see a little motion, dissolving, a little pale flash:  I will never have enough eyes.

Epilogue Late October was accepted as part of the MSU Library Short Edition call for work on the theme of “recovery,” in coordination with the MSU Broad Art Museum's exhibit of Beverly Fishman's art, also called Recovery.

Kathleen McGookey's most recent books are Instructions for My Imposter (Press 53, 2019) and Nineteen Letters (BatCat Press, 2019). Her work has recently appeared in Copper Nickel, Crazyhorse, December, Field, Glassworks, Miramar, Quiddity, and Sweet. She lives in Middleville, Michigan with her family.

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