At almost-five, 
she’s learning to care 
how words can hurt, and so 
tells me I look pretty 
with my tummy hanging out. 

We’re both in bathing suits, 
and now I look down 
at my ample belly, 
as she continues: 
I don’t want to say 
you look silly. 

I take her hand, 
Yes, darling, I understand, 
as we tiptoe 
through new grass 
to the summer pond—

Grandma, you’re beautiful, 
she speaks as we leap 
into the silky water 
like glittering fish. 

Laura Foley

is the author of eight poetry collections. Everything We Need: Poems from El Camino was released in winter 2022. Why I Never Finished My Dissertation received a starred Kirkus Review, was among their top poetry books of 2019, and won an Eric Hoffer Award. Her collection It’s This is forthcoming from Salmon Press. Her poems have won numerous awards, and national recognition—read frequently by Garrison Keillor on The Writers Almanac, and appearing in Ted Kooser’s American Life in Poetry.

Her poems have also appeared in Alaska Quarterly Review, Valparaiso Poetry Review, Poetry Society London, Crannog Magazine (Ireland), DMQ Review, Atlanta Review, Mason Street, JAMA, and many others. Her work has been included in many anthologies such as: Poetry of Presence: An Anthology of Mindfulness Poems; Healing the Divide: Poems of Kindness and Connection; and How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope.

Author’s website: www.laurafoley.net