A Poem by Sarah Bloom

Leaning into a Phone Call

the plug of sound
the hiss
when oxygen leaves the body
in a white smoke visible
to the operator who asks
what is your emergency do you have
an emergency

if you live in the south your sister
will go on dates
your sister's going-on-dates
will pull air from your lower leg

if you live in the south
your mother is a nurse or a filer
of lawsuits
your mother has a broken hip
she does not visit you except to say

do you like the way my hip grinds your teeth

Sarah Bloom is a dreamer and a lover of dreaming.  She lives with her wife on a farm in southeast Arkansas; she teaches English at the University of Arkansas at Monticello.  Her poems have appeared in Phoebe and Dark Sky Magazine.