by Melody Wang
The world seemed askew through balmy fog,
streetlights tinged with heavy-lidded longing,
faded auras and the jasmine scent of ghosts
We passed a shadowed couple that evening.
I drew closer to you, feeling the weight of your hand
as we pulsed upstream to delay the inevitable
I never did meet your mother, but she appeared to me
in a dream once, leading me to the cottage of your youth.
Ever since, I feel her presence in wind-drawn sighs
At times I picture your father cloistered in piles of old books
and mementos from a kinder time when lemony sunlight
still streamed into a garden brimming with possibility
About the photographer: Emily Sorensen is the Exhibitions Coordinator for environmental art at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education as well as a DFA Candidate at the Yale School of Drama, where she earned an MFA in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism. While “researching” ecological art and performance, she likes to go outside and take pictures, mostly of trees. Find her on Instagram @mylifeisapoem.
