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  • Gratitudes
  • Elaine Johanson (bio)

That the walls are the color of fog and the linens and curtains white.

That the sinks are as old as the house.

That the river is whitecapped and serious with rain.

That your heart beats visibly in your neck.

That your dog never tires of looking, her nose a fur prow.

That the osprey's good nest sags.

That the windows are open, and curtains suck against the screens.

That we are careless with our clothes.

That wire hangers beat the door when we swing it closed.

That the corn fields ripple like a stretched sheet.

That we wake into the same morning each day and live it same:

     my hair unbraiding,     the faucets squealing,     the papery corn,     the patched screen,     the water that bruises     through all possible moods,     and the quiet of the porch. [End Page 408]

Elaine Johanson

ELAINE JOHANSON has an MFA in poetry from Columbia University and now lives in Philadelphia. She is currently collaborating on a collection of poems and photographs with photographer J. C. Almquist. She is also an active ceramicist, and can be found—most days—with her hands in clay.

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