after T. S. Eliot
Ice breaks. And forms. And breaks.
That cracked edge of winter,
between Memory and Desire,
cruel April, stirs bats in the ceiling
with warm afternoons like a mother
who pinches the napping child. Then,
with cold hands pats them back to sleep.
The river, gorged on the dreams of lilacs,
raises a brood of broken branches,
winter juices spilling from
her lips onto the land
I curl my hands around Hope, hold my mouth
to my fingers in an O and blow.
Breathe. Blow.
—
Sara Dovre Wudali is a 2023–2024 Loft Mentor Series Fellow in poetry and has received support from the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council. Her poems and essays have been published in literary journals such as under the gum tree, Barrelhouse, and Blood Tree Literature. She is the editor of the hybrid anthology chapbook, All You Need Is One Avocado.
