“Whole”
Bone and skin and muscle
burned
at 1400o for two hours –
this is what has become
of my father.
I sift him through my fingers,
return him
to the soil he sowed
his whole life.
I mix him with dirt and tears,
return him to the place he felt whole,
the place I ran from
and refused to return to until
it was time to say goodbye.
His body survived more battles
than most should fight
and when he let go he was ready,
his body tired.
I find a piece of bone
not eaten by the flames.
I curl my fingers around it,
I carry my father with me
as I walk away
This selection comes from the poetry collection All in the Family, available from Bottlecap Press. Order your copy here.
Courtney LeBlanc is the author of chapbooks Siamese Sisters and All in the Family (Bottlecap Press). She is an MFA candidate at Queens University of Charlotte. Her poetry is published or forthcoming in Public Pool, Rising Phoenix Review, The Legendary, Germ Magazine, Quail Bell Magazine, Brain Mill Press, and others. She loves nail polish, wine, and tattoos. Read her blog, follow her on Twitter, or find her on Facebook.
Twitter: @wordperv
Beth Couture‘s work can be found in a number of journals and anthologies, including Gargoyle, Drunken Boat, The Southeast Review, Ragazine, and Thirty Under Thirty from Starcherone Books. Her novella, Women Born with Fur, was published by Jaded Ibis Press in 2014 as part of its Blue Bustard Novellas series. She graduates with her Master’s in Social Work at Bryn Mawr College in May, and she lives in West Philly with her husband and five cats.
