once upon a magnolia

by Nicole Fegan

i was to move to new orleans

and become a painter, or so

the legend says. tell me again

about the easel —

oak or cherrywood

and impossibly old

show me scenes of

strawgrass in the endless sea

of hues of green, my

calloused hands put finally

to proper use. show me

the houses drowning in rooftops

and butchered vines simmering

in the concrete death of summer

i am restless again

last night. a boat cries in the distance;

the cat rouses for food in the

predawn. lying awake i crunch fractions

and figures

there are words before my eyes

i cannot see. let’s make believe

for once i was born

today, this mind free of memories.

no more petrichor, no more

lakes or mountains

i rustle each day

through the same rhythms.

none of this has gone to plan.

i am a rock

in the rubble of

disrepair and the

cemetery stones have all

been smashed.

once upon a magnolia

i held you.

this is all i know for certain.