"Poet in the House"
Denise Duhamel
TRIPTYCH
DEATH
I fly over my hometown.
The factory smoke curls goodbye.
And beyond, a field of cows
lift their hooves, blowing kisses.
ADOLESCENCE
We’re on a long road trip
when I fall asleep in the back seat.
When I wake, my parents are gone
and the car is driving itself.
BIRTH
I hear screams, then a soft pop,
the stubborn lid of a pickle jar
finally unstuck.
Reprinted with permission of Denise Duhamel.
Denise Duhamel’s most recent book Two and Two (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2005) is winner of Binghamton University’s Milt Kessler Book Award. Her other titles include Mille et un Sentiments (Firewheel, 2005); Queen for a Day: Selected and New Poems (Pittsburgh, 2001); The Star-Spangled Banner (Southern Illinois University Press, 1999); and Kinky (Orchises Press, 1997). A recipient of an NEA Fellowship, she is an associate professor at Florida International University in Miami.
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I fly over my hometown.
The factory smoke curls goodbye.
And beyond, a field of cows
lift their hooves, blowing kisses.
ADOLESCENCE
We’re on a long road trip
when I fall asleep in the back seat.
When I wake, my parents are gone
and the car is driving itself.
BIRTH
I hear screams, then a soft pop,
the stubborn lid of a pickle jar
finally unstuck.
