The Viewing
My mother reached in,
touched the pale freckles
gently with the flats of her long fingers.
In the dim funeral parlor,
the white coffin glowed.
She turned to me, face crumpling,
asked if I wanted to hold
my sister’s hand
one more time.
I feel my nine-year-old eyes
opened wide. Woman,
what are you offering me?
“The Viewing” appeared in Amy Watkins’ book, Milk and Water, available from Yellow Flag Press. Purchase yours today!
Listen to an audio recording of “The Viewing” ready by the author!
Amy Watkins grew up with the alligators and armadillos in the Central Florida scrub, the oldest child of a nurse and a carpenter. As a kid, she wanted to be an artist, a doctor, a teacher and a contestant on Star Search; she became a writer instead. Her poems and essays have recently appeared in Bigger Than They Appear: Anthology of Very Small Poems, BloodLotus, and Animal: A Beast of a Literary Magazine. She lives in Orlando with her husband and only child, Alice.
This week’s Wardrobe Best Dressed was selected Nicole Oquendo. Nicole Oquendo is an Assistant Editor for Sundress Publications, and the Nonfiction Editor of Best of the Net. Her most recently published essays and poetry can be found in DIAGRAM, fillingStation, Storm Cellar, and Truck.
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