To the Stars on the Wings of a Pig

Margaret Draft

It is written somewhere in the sky—we are supposed to forget quickly. How? An elephant stands on a tiny pedestal. In a field under a tent. The ringmaster spectacular in his tails and topcoat, expert in redirection, points towards the acrobat. The acrobat astounds because he could fall.

The other day I told my friend the story in which you fell through the floorboards of an old barn. As I told the story, I recalled the manner in which you carefully transferred milk to a newborn calf. You beckoned to Babette singing come Bossy Boss come Boss.

Years since you carved onto your forearm that pig with wings but have you ever noticed that the word pigeon encompasses the word pig? Once, in the evening on Fifth or Third, I saw a pigeon drop into a vat of mustard. I watched its dark wings thrash. Then yield.

Feature Date

September 3, 2019

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Margaret Draft holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. She has been awarded the Ethel Olin Corbin Prize and is a recent recipient of a work-study scholarship from The Frost Place for their Conference on Poetry. Her poems have appeared in journals including Southern Humanities Review. She works at the Emily Dickinson Museum and is the current Contest Coordinator for The Frost Place Chapbook Competition sponsored by Bull City Press.

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Southern Humanities Review

51.4

Auburn, Alabama

Auburn University

Editors
Anton DiSclafani, Rose McLarney

Managing Editor
Caitlin Rae Taylor

Poetry Editor
Rose McLarney

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Southern Humanities Review is the literary quarterly published from the Department of English at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. Founded in 1967, SHR publishes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.

Work published in Southern Humanities Review is considered for Best American Essays, Best American Poetry, Best American Short Stories, New Stories from the South, Prize Stories: O. Henry Awards, and the Pushcart Prize.

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