Nursling, and: Bats after the Hurricane
- Nursling, and: Bats after the Hurricane
Nursling
Two parts animal, one ether,my daughter thickens in my arms,flesh and testament. Thump to thwack ourtwo hearts—and I'm all, one, neitherher nor me when I must leave her:a woman tattered and alarmed,animal-eyed, torn, tetheredto the daughter who thickens in my arms. [End Page 57]
Bats after the Hurricane
You'd think us shadowsbut our bodies hang,soft palmfuls of airemanating heatwhich pours over you,as from hidden suns,our five-toed feet curvedround restored, exposedbeams, wings jacketingbodies, heads pointeddown, numberlessguano coloniesforming beneath us.The city, upsidedown through the windows,is shedding itself,buildings stripped bare oftheir human makers;soon we will fill them. [End Page 58]
ANDY YOUNG is the author of the poetry collection All Night It Is Morning, from Diálogos Press, as well as four chapbooks, including John Swenson Notebook Dynamicron, forthcoming from Dancing Girl Press. She teaches at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. Her work appears or is forthcoming in storySouth, Southern Humanities Review, and Radar. *
