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Kingfisher & Woman Drowning
by Anastassia Pugatch
Bright kingfisher (blue, all beak)
crouches on buoy as boom cracks skull.
Her mind: numbed wood. He’ll call this one Stages
of Blood Blooming from Ear.
Sail shroud settled, now it’s sealing.
Had she known that bird’s a creep,
restless as the stars are dulled.
Once he smoothed out dog-eared pages,
once smoothed her forehead without fear.
But he’s tired of all the healing—
more lovely drownings to keep.
Inspects each one from upturned hulls.
Ana Pugatch is an MFA candidate at George Mason University, where she studies poetry and reads for Phoebe Journal. She recently returned to the states after teaching English in China and Thailand for several years. She has a B.A. in English from Skidmore, and an Ed.M. in "Language and Literacy" from Harvard.
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