
This selection, chosen by Guest Curator Callista Buchen, is from Pelted by Flowers by Kali Lightfoot, released by CavanKerry Press in 2021.
The Day Before
What is this day like for you?
The last day before you hear
test results: gene mutation
or not, disability
or not, early death
or not, or
not—the last
last day of 50% chances
before the days of 0% or 100%.
Did you have eggs Benedict
for breakfast? Are you thinking
about tacos for lunch?
Clutching this last day of mystery,
or anxious for certainty?
Betting on yes, or betting on no?
We aren’t talking about genes
today or the doctor’s appointment,
or the way your words
slur sometimes, your leg jerks.
Does Huntington’s, or fear of it,
knot your muscles?
Last days are most often lived
backward—in memory of who
we were and what our lives
were like the day before Dad
died, or the fire took our house,
or I landed in detox.
This time we are living forward—
this isn’t just Tuesday;
it’s the Tuesday before we know.


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