Southern Legitimacy Statement: I am originally from Dickson, TN… yes Dickson, a town with no Starbucks or Target. I’m now living on the river in Nashville, TN.
So Suddenly Mortal
I dreamt I was old and now
the waking hours seem sharper
like broken shells on a patch of sand
my feet have visited before.
I threw away your letters because
it stopped mattering when I realized
I’d die. What I’d leave behind
is of no consequence to me,
a woman, and all I’d want to think
while dangling between worlds
is how it felt to stare at the sun
as a child, so low to the ground
how it made a halo for my father
who once belonged to me.
I threw away your letters because
I grew old while I slept and woke
to a song that would always remind
me of you. And that was enough
for me – so suddenly mortal.
