Susan Culver

AFTER THE TORNADO

We couldn't stop staring at the sky; how the stars seemed to list as we listed, as though they, too, had lost their teacups, their beds.  You tilted your head, closed an eye.  Covered the moon with your thumb because we all needed something to extinguish, someone to blame.

After the tornado, we walked for miles. Past the shredded fields, the shredded stores.  We walked as if bound for our Elysian, our Avalon.  We walked on without looking back, fearing too simply the taste of salt on our lips.

Susan Culver is the editor of Lily. Her poetry and short fiction have been included in journals such as 3:AM, The Pedestal and Cranky. Her first collection of poetry, All the Ways We Could Have Met, is available at Amazon.com.