Everyone said Goodwill will soon be flooded with you and your ilk. But
last night I snuggled four frozen ovals of cheese bread inside your dark
chamber. As if putting kids down for naps. Shh. When I tucked them into
your warm, safe cave, your darkness held them tenderly. You melt the cheese
to perfect brown freckles of char. You always deliver. Fragrant, you make
the kitchen garlicky like a pizza joint. Your voice a hushed, slow rumble.
Your genius: the keen acknowledgment of my despair. Me: leaning against
the kitchen doorway, staring at our dead dog’s empty bowls on the floor. Me:
watching Love Is Blind under the afghan my dead mother knit. Your little room
like a womb. As much a deeply held secret as my BFF. Don’t worry. I’ll be
back tomorrow. Gyoza stuffed with gingered pork. Soft baby pillows. I’ll give a
well-intentioned shake (don’t worry) to balance the bake. After dinner, I’ll carry
you close in my arms. Tuck you into the pantry behind frosted glass. Where I’ll
gather Crockpot and Cuisinart for bedtime stories. Sssh, I’ll whisper. “Sleep tight.”
Anne Panning’s debut poetry collection, Spit & Glitter, is forthcoming from Cornerstone Press. She has published a memoir, Dragonfly Notes: On Distance and Loss, as well as a novel, Butter. Her short story collection, Super America, won the Flannery O’Connor Award and was a New York Times Editor’s Choice. She has also published short work in places such as Brevity, Prairie Schooner, Passages North, Craft Literary Magazine, Quarterly West, Kenyon Review, and River Teeth. Her essays have received notable citations in the Best American Essays series. She teaches creative writing at SUNY-Brockport and is working on her next book, Bootleg Barber: A Daughter’s Memoir.
Image: Honsoiom Yuenha 01, commons.wikimedia.org
Check out HFR’s book catalog, publicity list, submission manager, and buy merch from our Spring store. Follow us on Instagram, Bluesky, and YouTube. Disclosure: HFR is an affiliate of Bookshop.org and we will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Sales from Bookshop.org help support independent bookstores and small presses.
Heavy Feather Review 