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      • Jane Beal
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YOUR CART

Melody Wang

What We Carry

my mother & I condense 
a lifetime together into weekly
hikes — there are never enough
 
daylight hours             we seek out
wild rapeseed              moss-soft fennel
prickly radish              leaves that unfurl 
 
to fold up gently: we linger 
in languid afternoon light, 
traipse from patch to patch 
 
squat to forage in a rush all
that we recognize as humble 
nourishment. My mother, eyes
 
wild with huáijiù, plucks
tender shoots in eager handfuls,
states in a matter-of-fact tone:  
 
It is in our DNA          this trauma,
the need to store up    enough food
to stave off winters      men —  
 
cannot and will not ever understand 
what we carry inside us. In silence
we walk the path, heads held high  

S. Erin Batiste
Melody Wang currently resides in sunny Southern California with her dear husband. In her free time, she dabbles in piano composition and also enjoys hiking, baking, and playing with her dogs. She can be found on Twitter @MelodyOfMusings.
Art: Public Domain
  
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