|  |  |
 |  | |
| ||
| |||||||
| |||||||
|
| ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
 Contents | April 2004 More on poetry from The Atlantic Monthly. |
Childhood
by Debra Bruce .....  Hear the author read this poem (in RealAudio)Exiled once, allowed back in to guide you through, I didn't know my time was up. But by the river, in snapping grass, still in the habit of noticing, crouching with you at a leaf or wing, I spotted caterpillar frass speckling milkweed as he feasted, getting ready to split, released from a too tight self. In just a week he'd grow a better, brasher skin. Exiled once, allowed back in, I leaned down in the snapping grass, but stopped at the thud of your new voice: Come on. Big deal. So what.
Debra Bruce teaches at Northeastern Illinois University. Her most recent collection is What Wind Will Do (1997). Copyright © 2004 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All rights reserved. The Atlantic Monthly; April 2004; Childhood; Volume 293, No. 3; 80. |
| ||
|
Home |
Current Issue |
Back Issues |
Forum |
Site Guide |
Feedback |
Subscribe |
Search
| ||||
