Salome
How does a man
breeze into this
canyon with only
a pocketful of
nuts. Plaid
coat, walking stick.
Handkerchiefing
forehead. Sniffly
dog furring
pounding descent
into the canyon.
Foot sweat, backache.
He claims trout,
stream fed, catches them
two at a time. He will
wander down to not
disturb us. Calls
dog breath dripping tongue
mid-drink. They are
tail flash, disappearing
trail. We are
warm camp stove, fettuccine,
Bushmills flask,
sleeping bag, camp chair,
water filter, coffee mug,
kiss me. We are
ten miles deep
into the gash.
—
This selection comes from Patricia Colleen Murphy’s Collection of Poetry, Bully Love, available from Press 53. Purchase your copy here! Our curator for this selection is Danielle Hanson.
Patricia Colleen Murphy founded Superstition Review at Arizona State University, where she teaches creative writing and magazine production. She won the 2019 Press 53 Award for Poetry with her collection Bully Love, published as a Tom Lombardo Poetry Selection. Her collection Hemming Flames (Utah State University Press) won the 2016 May Swenson Poetry Award, judged by Stephen Dunn, and the 2017 Milt Kessler Poetry Award. A chapter from her memoir-in-progress was published as a chapbook by New Orleans Review. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona.
- The Wardrobe’s Best Dressed: Othered by Seher Hashmi - April 18, 2024
- The Wardrobe’s Best Dressed: Othered by Seher Hashmi - April 17, 2024
- The Wardrobe’s Best Dressed: Othered by Seher Hashmi - April 16, 2024