After

Karen Sagstetter

I forgot cranes honking in a wide sky
I forgot woodpeckers rapping
the tread of horses in dry woods
high wind in pine branches, the splash of the river
rain spattering the eaves
I forgot drumbeats, hand bells
I forgot the crack of a bat, applause
smart voices on the radio
I forgot Grandad calling me Sugar
Like a dying bird I tried to listen
to snow drifting cold and dangerous
outside my window

KAREN SAGSTETTER has published poetry and fiction in numerous literary journals, two chapbooks of poetry, two nonfiction books, and The Thing with Willie, a collection of linked stories. She studied in Japan as a Fulbright journalist and worked as senior editor for many years at the Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler Galleries and at the National Gallery of Art.