“Sugar, Starch” by Jill Klein (Poetry ‘16)

Sugar, Starch

That’s how the corn
in its summer song of silk and husk, its tassels waving
across the field, calling to rat and raven;

how my mother, before she lost her heart
and lungs;

how my brother-in-law, before he lost his brain
and tongue, his hulking body swaying
as I came into the kitchen and said Stay strong;