Quest & Elegy , & Sobriety by Linda Bryant
Quest & Elegy
I want to tune
into you like a pop
song. No, you want me
to look inside quiet
nooks — the crow’s torpedo
beak, soft pod of blue
indigo. Mama, where
are you? Gone 16 years
& you’re still playing hide
& seek. Are you a red hot
bonfire in Calcutta or a black
hole at heart of the Milky
Way? Mother, are you gliding
with stingrays? Starting a new
life in Milwaukee? Whatever
you’re up to it must be damn
good. Mama, I forgave you
Christmas morning. Magnificent
as rubies & gold where you are,
but why can’t you visit me? Why?
Sobriety
After she kicked Miller High Life
& Virginia Slims she knit a scratchy
avalanche of garb. She taught
herself with long aluminum
needles & a carnival of threads — shetland,
merino, cashmere. I was deluged
with lamb’s wool cardigans, variegated
mittens, marbled bedspreads, knobby
scarves. She labored over a snazzy
pink angora overcoat that plunged
past my knees. I don’t recall
much from childhood, the once-clear
faces now blurred. Yet, I can
see my grandmother’s knitted
gear—every handcrafted stitch
& filigree. How the flash of white
chevron stripes on my cabled
V-neck drew the scrutiny of a prized
drummer in marching band. His name
gone, but I recall the delicate & tight
application of her pearl buttons, the tickle
of spun wool across my forearms.
“I like to think that poetry can make a difference in the world. I appreciate a good topical poem that can take on daunting issues of our times — racism, abuse, addiction. Yet, much of my writing is obsessed with subjects such as family relationships and domestic activities that some might consider time-worn or sentimental. I try to eliminate corniness and take out cliches but I’m never quite sure I’ve done it. I start asking myself questions that take away the courage it takes to submit. Who wants to read another poem about a dead grandmother? What does a poem about knitting do to change the world? I know that no subject is off-limits but I keep trying to elevate my standards and make my writing more consequential. I do not trash the poems exactly; I “sideline” them. I have a couple dozen (maybe more) sidelined poems in my Google Docs. Occasionally I will dive into the files, resurrect a poem, and try to set it free.”
Linda Bryant Davis is a poet in Berea, Kentucky. Occasionally she appears in literary journals. In 2022 she published a chapbook, Swing Set Confessional, by Act of Power Press. A second chapbook, Rough Glow of Late Rembrandt, is forthcoming in 2023. She runs and operates Owsley Fork Writers Sanctuary. You can find Linda (she/her) on Twitter at @BryantWritesPoetry or Instagram @BryantWritesPoetry.