unsure why 
she’s still alive 

my mother tries 
to imagine 
her death 

the missing peace 


::


her possible pasts 
keep her awake 

calling out 
to be re-membered 
embodied at last 

to walk this earth 


::


over her head 
a rush of air—

angling away 
the wide 
angel wings 

of an owl 

Cynthia Anderson

lives in the Mojave Desert. Her poems have appeared in numerous journals, including Spillway, Crab Creek Review, Apercus, Askew, San Pedro River Review, Mojave River Review, The Coil, and Split Rock Review, among others. Her work has been nominated for Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize. She is the author of nine poetry collections and co-editor of the anthology A Bird Black As the Sun: California Poets on Crows & Ravens.

Author’s website: www.cynthiaandersonpoet.com