you are afraid of the dark

Another poetry reading tonight! I think they aways come in pairs. My dear friend, Maya Zeller, will be reading from her collection, Rust Fish, and the lovely and talented  Kathryn Nuernberger will read from her collection, Rag & Bone. Since I'm in such a poetry mood tonight, I thought I'd share one of Kate's poems with you. It seems quite appropriate given the stark and spooky feeling that the end of October brings...

YOU ARE AFRAID OF THE DARK

You are afraid of the dark,
for which you blame the raccoons,
or more to the point, your father,
who took you and your mother
into the night with a flashlight
and shotgun, then left
with both, while you held
her shaking hand. You
would follow your father
to the end of the world,
those distant birch woods
where raccoons rustle
and flash their green eyes.
His gun was firing
into the persimmon trees
and the rain of leaves and ripe fruit
fell farther and farther,
until only the crackle
of his shots and the distant baying
of the hounds could be heard.
The raccoons came then
to hiss all around:
he left you, he left you,
and now you are ours.

Rag & Bone may be purchased here

Rust Fish may be purchased here

Off to the reading!