Fragment

Fragment

She is riding on an old fashioned sleigh with a back and side bar to hold her in the seat. Icy air bites her cheeks. Her sister is positioned in front and she knows enough to hold on to her.

puppies
curled up together
winter sun

There is a roughness on her cold cheek – a scarf perhaps, or the back of the baby’s snowsuit. She closes her eyes against the light reflecting on snow.

comfort food
the smell of sleep
on an old blanket

Someone lifts her up and carries her into a blast of warm air as they enter the apartment. The stiff clothes are peeled from her body. Her aunt offers hugs and kisses.

tomato soup
the way love tastes
in a memory

 

Failed Haiku A Journal of English Senryu

November 2016

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