Collective Bargaining
On New Year's Eve we record wishes
on strips of paper, burn them, then
gulp down the ashes
chasing them with cheap
sweet champagne
Will those who survive
be us
or our shadows
beings transformed
altered?
If I come out of the ordeal
unharmed
I will burn each day
in a celebration
I'll be fearless and defiant
I promise
the higher power
trying, again, to take
a private exit
out of the common catastrophe —
typical of our species
Duck-Rabbit
a field, dry reeds
a patch of ice
like a blot of ink —
a child on the ground
bright red on white
her arms reaching out
shot dead or
making a snow angel?
Mother's Work
The remains
buried hastily
in the yard
recently ran about
with a shaggy dog
sewed a dress for a doll
bombed at Scrabble,
sang a lullaby
____________________________
STILL CITY
OKSANA MANSYMCHUK
University of Pittsburgh Press
2024
