Kendra Leonard
Tell Us What You’re Doing We Want to Know How You’re Coping with the Pandemic
I
singing at home
alone
to the dog
to the peonies—
soft pink face-surrounding cloud touching whole-engulfing—
I saw
in
someone else’s camera
II
how cherished curbs are now:
they are the site of interaction excitement transfer
the places where food and medicines
and books
sit
in focus
on the edge of concrete
plump with fulfillment
becoming damp
in the humidity
the gently sweating singer at the party—
on the stage, waiting for you to come closer
listen
III
strum and pick—
fingers on a pillow—
light, light
longer
haven’t you written some songs by now?
baked all the breads of the world?
braided them all into a challah of sound?
the kitchen is empty and dark
—Submitted on 05/06/2020
Kendra Leonard is the author of Making Mythology (Louisiana Literature Press, 2020). Her poems have appeared in Pussy Magic, Gingerbread House,Lily Poetry Review, Snapdragon Journal, Bacopa Literary Review, and other journals. Leonard is a librettist based in Texas.
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