The Woman at the Library

Poetry by Abigail Myers & Ally Tukupashya

Store old bills and photos

in flowered canvas boxes

on a shelf along a wall

and will them out of existence—

step outside and be someone

with a different ex-husband,

an account at a different bank,

dried corsages from another school’s prom

in someone else’s aging mother’s closet.

No shelf? No wall?

Well, then you are the woman

always at the library with her cart.

Adventure seeking,

Knees crackling, scrunching!!

Death Knocks loudly,

For nothing but a sleep debt owed

An opportunity missed,

For I cling on to the kiss of Life.

Pregnant! How can it be?

If not existence-

Of Dentures floating,

In amniotic fluid,

Rising to the first beam of sunshine-

Hot flashes in winter’s blow,

contractions ! a push to birth eternal youth.

Some can buy privacy for the pains,

but she brings this new self

on the table next to Large Print,

a story just as urgent as those between the glossy covers.

No one and everyone watches it happen,

wondering if the cart is their destiny also,

if they too will labor in their last days

like a horse who has only pulled the loads of others.

Abigail Myers writes poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction on Long Island, New York. Her microfiction recently appeared in Heart Balm and is forthcoming from Milk Candy Review. Her poetry recently appeared in Sylvia, Roi Fainéant, and Amethyst Review, and is forthcoming from Full Mood Mag, Syncopations, and Musings. Her essays have appeared in the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series, with personal essays forthcoming from Phoebe and Variant Literature. Keep up with her at abigailmyers.com and @abigailmyers.

Tukupashya Ally Kasongo is a freelance writer based in Lusaka, Zambia. She is a lawyer by profession and her other articles and poems have been published by Writer's Space Africa, Bookdash as well as poetic Africa. She is a nature lover who if not taking nature walks, will enjoy reading a book or picnicing with friends and family.You can find her on Twitter @Allytukupasya and Instragram @allytukupashya