Departure for New York  //  June 1 //  10:44 a.m. —Carolyn Williams-Noren


Every time it's hard
not to say fucking airport
Today, sky like gray on gray watercolor.

In the car we fought gently
about the tree in the side yard—
whether it's dead, whether it's an elm. 

The kids made up a song in the back seat. 
You talked about cherries, sour and sweet.

Here’s the routine: park in the dropoff lane,
click out of the passenger seat, 
stand behind the car while you 
lean into the back seat 
to kiss the kids goodbye

exhaust hot against my shins.

Carolyn Williams-Noren

Carolyn Williams-Noren's first poetry chapbook, Small Like a Tooth, is available from Dancing Girl Press. Her second chapbook, F L I G H T S, forthcoming in 2020 from Ethel Press, includes four arrivals, four departures, and at least one love poem.

ISSN 2472-338X
© 2019