after A.E. Stallings
Where do you go from here,
eyes wet as the weather,
kid slippers coming unstitched
as puddles eat at the leather,
soles scraped by stepping stones,
scalp sore from brushing;
where do you go from here,
limp-limbed and flushing?
Having left the raveled stockings
tied to the darning egg,
having left the hopsack apron
sagging on its peg,
having left the mixing bowl
loaded with rising dough
and the flour spilled in a farewell note
on the counter, where do you go,
your felted dress like blotting cloth,
your hair blacked by ink,
your dishes with their painted lace
congealing in the sink?
No one will take you in without
a bucket, soap and mop,
and you know you need the cobbler
but you can’t find his shop.
Hannah Louise Poston
Hannah Louise Poston is a poet and essayist. Her poems have been featured on Poetry Daily and appeared or are forthcoming in a number of journals, including Ploughshares and The Yale Review. Her nonfiction has been featured on Longreads and appeared in The New York Times. Hannah is also an instructor of Argentine tango and the founder of Poema Clothing, purveyor of luxury handmade tango clothes. She has an MFA in poetry from the University of Michigan and she lives in Los Angeles.
Also by Hannah Louise Poston (see all)
- Ode to my Hands - September 22, 2019
- The Hunter - September 22, 2019
- Aubade - June 10, 2019
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