Reading the Bay
A calm water morning. After what was said on both sides.
Don't you talk to me that way. My daughter.
We cannot speak, now, nor stand to touch.
The bay, covered with tiny script
Moving rapidly right to left. Words
Crossing over
One another, whole passages
Torn from an asylum diary. I lifted her
Body, a huge flailing penknife, into the car.
A seagull sits bobbing on the text. My brother.
It appears that, today at least, all language moves out to sea.
Jeffrey Skinner has published four collections of poetry: Late Stars, A Guide to Forgetting, The Company of Heaven, and Gender Studies. His work has received wide recognition, including fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ingram Merrill Foundation, and the Howard Foundation. Currently director of the creative writing program at the University of Louisville, he is also co-founder and editorial consultant for Sarabande Books.
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