3. À LA RECHERCHE DU TEMPS PERDU
Each night as I floss my teeth, I feel a pull in opposite
directions. Generally, I hope my diligence has left only
the remnants of my most recently consumed meal, but
if, perhaps, I have missed something from breakfast,
a whole flax seed, a morsel of raspberry, and this has
begun to decay in the crevasses along the gum line of
my aging teeth, I might catch a tiny taste of the
gingivitis-breath my long-dead mother would sometimes
sigh into the side of my face when she hugged me good
night, and, inevitably, in this case, I must lean against the
sink slightly as a wave of sweet grief crashes through me.
Photo by Jennifer Sheridan
—from Rattle #68, Summer 2020
Tribute to Postcard Poems
__________
Jennifer Sheridan: “While I hold an MFA in fiction writing, and write a great deal about the books I champion as a sales rep for HarperCollins Children’s Division, I had never really tried writing poetry. A dear friend, with whom I’d recently reconnected at a Macalester College reunion, urged me to join the annual PoPo festival with him. So, I gave it a whirl. I now have a chapbook collection I hope to publish! I have grown so much as a writer due to this marvelous ‘exercise in spontaneity’ and encourage others who are looking for a little creative nudge to check it out.”
