Jen Kindbom

Jen Kindbom
 
After The Fish
 
Oh Elizabeth,
it is still rainbow,
rainbow, rainbow—
the bilge on the parking log, and
now, the sand—
we still throw the fish back; we
etch our names on the cold ground
and pull our hands away,
turn our eyes toward what’s lighter—
 
It is still rainbow:
our tremendous tasks are the hooks
in our tender jaws. We throw ourselves
back again and again, we fill
with air—
we float to the surface, we drive away—
our rainbows stay,
this bizarre and clouded print of life.
 
The green grows up around us, Elizabeth,
and we wait, the peonies of our hearts exploding,
our irises, too, still—
 
Would you cast your line again? Entangle us
in your ancient ribbons.
 
 
 
Jen Kindbom is the author of A Note on the Door, a chapbook from Finishing Line Press, and Cadabra, a full length collection forthcoming from Cascadia Publishing House. Her poems have appeared in Perigee, Literary Mama, and Connotations Press, among others. Jen earned her MFA from Ashland University. A native of Cleveland’s West Side, she resides in Wooster, Ohio with her husband, their children, and a delightful dog named Bune. Jen teaches English.