It Was the SummerI ate nothing but apple slices & eggs,
hard-boiled, lightly salted. It was the summer
of forgetting. The summer of scrubbing my tongue
until it bled. Trying to get that taste out of my mouth.
poetry
Michelle DeLouise-Ashmore
Michelle DeLouise-Ashmore is a Native Hawaiian poet living and writing in Northwest Arkansas. Her writing explores ideas of grief & love, family & trauma. You can find her poems in RookieMag, Clementine Unbound, Honey & Lime Lit, & more.
Fayetteville, AR, United States
Selected work (8 publications)
DomesticityOn most days, my father wakes early
to turn the heat on, the scent of warmth
overtaking the home, masking the stench
of last night’s burnt dinner.
poetry
The House on Koamoko Drivein the front yard, the tree-house
my father built with his tired
hands, the door creaky &
a missing floorboard here or there.
i remember watching as he fell
from the fifth step of the ladder,
& my mother’s laughter
poetry
Litanies of WonderI am filled with this desire to expose my body to that light. A compulsion to wake it, despite this loneliness & that cold & the quiet ache in the backs of my knees.
poetry