Blackbirdan online journal of literature and the artsSpring 2016  Vol. 15 No. 1
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back CHRISTOPHER EMERY

The Back Porch

Witches aren’t born ugly;
they have to become tragically powerful.

This is how I relate to those of faith,
in thinking of a child

born to a grateful mother, and a father
who took his post unwillingly,
just to remind us

that there is someone that might not think you’re good enough.
You can see a lake from the kitchen window,

the banks cluttered with wet paper,

and rookeries have fallen over like walnut shells
in a gray flourish of rain.  


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