“This poem is from the “Mimics the Moon” collection: The words for the poems in this collection were sourced from my personal correspondence. The handwritten words are from old letters and the typed words are torn from loose pages of an old poetry book sent by a friend. Most of the words are from the book Immortal Poems of the English Language, 1983 edition, pages around 610-20.”
Going Nowhere Fiction by Amy Marques
Father said her place was near family. Father said if she wanted more schooling, he’d build her a school next to the farmhouse. Father said she could be a schoolmistress, teach the neighboring children, inspire young minds. But she shouldn’t aspire to leave the farm, to live in the city, to be on her own. Father said he was going to the city for further medical tests. She could come, someone had to come. Mother had too many little ones to tend to and another on the way. Father said the city was big. Father said it was difficult to navigate and too much for a single young woman, even if it was 1940. Father said she shouldn’t go anywhere without him, might get lost without him, shouldn’t leave his side. At the hospital, Father slept. The doctor said they needed to keep father over several nights and was she able to find her way back to the boarding house? She said she would be fine. She rode the buses: looping routes, memorizing street names, mapping the city in her mind. She studied the women who walked purposefully down sidewalks, into offices, clinics, and schools. She found the boarding house, her stride, her daydreams, her soul. She tried to tell Father when he woke up, when he sat up, when he was discharged. Tried to explain that she needed to be here, in this city that felt like home. Father said she didn’t know what she was saying. Father said it was time to go home. Her place was near family, Father said.
Amy Marques has been nominated for multiple awards and has visual art, poetry, and prose published in many journals. She is the editor and visual artist for the Duets anthology and has an erasure poetry book coming out in 2024 with Full Mood Publishing. X: @amybookwhisper1 https://amybookwhisperer.wordpress.com