Daughter of West Virginia
- Daughter of West Virginia
Starve that shiver, breakyour rocks. This is for youand only yousweet, greasy child,miner’s girl in the forestof godstaller than trees. You’ll needa skeletonkey and spit-handshake to openthe world, to crossstates into your mother’sname. She is iron and honeyand alive.
Playground, behind adogwood treeshe castblossomsfalling fromher mouth,the barkpulling at herhair. [End Page 138]
What would it be liketo live in the shell of a mountain?What it would belike for him.
In Louisiana he rana cab to the bottomof the river delta, he swearshe’s seen it worse: drywallfor biscuits, cafeterialadies dressed upas saints. It’s the worst time
to be the happiesthe’s ever going to be.Breakfast for his daughter,
rising in a bowl of milk. [End Page 139]
Cassie Duggan received her MFA from the University of San Francisco. Her work has appeared in the Chariton Review. She lives in San Francisco.
