Turbulence
Catherine Kyle
The year turns and shakes us
like we’re unglued ships in bottles.
We sway from space to space.
We break each wave across our hulls.
Would you believe that when the earthquake
struck, we were already speaking of the afterlife?
And what sun burst through the clouds
as our potted window plants shook?
After tremors cease, our phones erupt
with new vibrations. Each buzz a name,
a loved one, chimes of checking in. We hold them
in our open palms. We hold each other, pulses synced.
The year turns and shakes us
like our hearts are Magic 8-Balls.
Surfacing answers: Yes, I’ve got you.
Yes, I am still here.
Reading recommendation? The Carrying, by Ada Limón
“This book examines many difficulties of the world while still finding hope, love, and joy in it. I read it in December and have thought of it at least once a week since then.”
Catherine Kyle is the author of Shelter in Place (Spuyten Duyvil, 2019), Coronations (Ghost City Press, 2019), and other collections. Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in Midwestern Gothic, Mid-American Review, Bellingham Review, and other journals, and has been honored by the Idaho Commission on the Arts, the Alexa Rose Foundation, and other organizations. She is an assistant professor at the College of Western Idaho, where she teaches creative writing and literature. Her website is www.catherinebaileykyle.com.
