D. Dina Friedman
Dark Country
I.
The country is so dark, our leader cannot see his shadow. When the cloud comes, he calls it snow. Then he calls it sun. Then he calls it a witch.
II.
I am taking dancing lessons from the witches. Dancing with a witch requires a suspension of belief in walls. Dancing with our leader would be easier if I could get him to lean back. I hope the witches are watching.
III.
I will not lean back. I will grow crow’s wings, or assume the ugliness of buzzards. Someone has to do the work. The sun has risen. He calls it a cloud. Tomorrow he will call it fire; the next day, ash.
IV.
I could pour water on him. He might melt. He might laugh. He might call it a tsunami. The fires are burning. The soup is on the stove.
V.
Physicists keep investigating whether dark matter is dust. Religious people think we’re made of dust. I think about that when I clean my house, which isn’t often.
VI.
What would I like to be made of? Sugar and spice? Snails and whales? My youngest child no longer identifies with the gender of their birth. They are made of cinnamon, dogs, and hot pepper.
VII.
I fear for my youngest child in this dark country. Sometimes I dream about poisonous plants. The soup is still on the stove.
VIII.
When my youngest child was little, they ate pokeberries. We made them throw up, and then everything was okay. Apparently, it takes many pokeberries to do damage, but the mature leaves can kill you quickly.
IX.
This poem no longer seems to be about our leader. That’s okay, since he doesn’t like to read. But this poem is about darkness. And tsunamis. And my youngest child, growing up in a land of hemlock, masquerading as a harmless weed.
D. Dina Friedman is the author of the two young adult novels. Escaping Into the Night (Simon and Schuster, 2006) was recognized as a Notable Book for Older Readers by the Association of Jewish Libraries, and a Best Books for Young Adults nominee by the American Library Association. Playing Dad’s Song (FSG, 2006) was recognized as a Bank Street College of Education Best Book. She is also the author of the poetry chapbook Wolf in the Suitcase (Finishing Line Press 2019). Her work has appeared in Calyx, Common Ground Review, Lilith, Wordpeace, Pinyon, Negative Capability, New Plains Review, Steam Ticket, Bloodroot, Inkwell, and Pacific Poetry, among other journals. Friedman holds an MFA from Lesley University. She lives in Hadley, Mass., and teaches at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
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