SHARON KENNEDY-NOLLE
SMOKING GUN
Walk in a forest of felled trees,
tread lightly, ever dreading
move like a marked deer
in a field gone awry,
crushed buttercups
and a headless mouse.
Snake through the green fern blur,
Ask, what else is flailing?
I left something suffering behind.
It comes to me nightly,
With a lost, questioning look.
Grope to get back
back to it, but how?
Stagger empty-handed.
At a crosshair standstill, I
no longer know
the difference
between the target and the aim.
I keep a pet cage in my car, rattling around,
reminding myself of my bars.
A graduate of Vassar College, Sharon Kennedy-Nolle holds an MFA and doctoral degree from the University of Iowa. In addition to attending the Sarah Lawrence Summer Writing Institute for several years, she was accepted to the Bread Loaf Conferences in both Middlebury and Sicily in 2016 as well as the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. This year marks the fourth that Sharon has been honored to be a scholarship participant at the Frost Place Summer Writing Program.