Waiting-for-a-Diagnosis Suite<\/p>\n
1. Burn Pile<\/p>\n
Trees speak the language of your silent wood.
\nAshes are meant for everywhere and set
\na wing-dust on the leaves, enough to fill
\nthe empty lines of another\u2019s fingertip.<\/p>\n
2. Loam<\/p>\n
There are weeds in the garden
\nand your diction\u2019s gone.
\nRelax. There is nothing here
\nthat won\u2019t eat you \u2013 that would not
\ntake you up against itself.
\nAll that\u2019s housed under the slice of moon
\nwears the lobster bib, for no part of you
\nisn\u2019t full of sweet white meat.<\/p>\n
3. Night Storm<\/p>\n
Air rises to a pitch
\nthat sticks in the throat.
\nWind is sharking the huge pine
\nthat leans toward the roof, and you wait
\nfor the snap. Then, the soft rain.
\nIt all falls in time —
\nanother air, another weight,
\nanother voice.<\/p>\n
4. And After<\/p>\n
You will open either way
\nto find what your sore arms
\ncan bring, like a warm
\ngolden orb against the chest.
\nThe answer is nothing,
\na nameless stagger
\nand a voice going silent, less yours
\nwith each day. You will always wait
\nfor the right word.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“Waiting-for-a-Diagnosis Suite” was first\u00a0published in The Georgia Review.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Christine Robbins grew up in Northern Virginia and has lived in Olympia,Washington for most of her adult life.\u00a0 She is a graduate of The Evergreen State College and received an MFA in creative writing from the Rainier Writing Workshop in 2012.\u00a0 Her poems have been published in The Georgia Review, Talking River Review<\/em> and the \u2026And Love\u2026<\/em> anthology<\/a> (Jacar Press).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Waiting-for-a-Diagnosis Suite 1. Burn Pile Trees speak the language of your silent wood. Ashes are meant for everywhere and set a wing-dust on the leaves, enough to fill the empty lines of another\u2019s fingertip. 2. Loam There are weeds in … Continue reading