Another early morning
in front of the bathroom mirror--
my daughter making faces
at herself while I pull
back her long brown hair,
gathering the breadth and shine
in my hands, brushing
and smoothing before weaving
the braid she will wear
to school for the day.
Afterwards, stray strands
nestle in the brush, and because
nothing of beauty is ever wasted,
I pull them out,
stand on the porch and let them fly.
This poem appears in Her Joy Becomes available from Fernwood Press.
Andrea Potos is the author of several poetry collections, including most recently Her Joy Becomes (Fernwood Press), Marrow of Summer and Mothershell (both from Kelsay Books), A Stone to Carry Home and An Ink Like Early Twilight (both from Salmon Poetry in Ireland). She has received several Outstanding Achievement Awards in Poetry from the Wisconsin Library Association, the James Hearst Poetry Prize from the North American Review, and the William Stafford Prize in Poetry from Rosebud Magazine. Her poems can be found widely in print and online, including The Sun, Poetry East, Potomac Review, Cave Wall, Lyric, Bearings Online, Braided Way, and How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope (Storey Publishing). Andrea was a longtime bookseller in independent bookstores in Madison.
February 2023
Arts + Literature Laboratory is located at 111 S. Livingston Street #100, Madison, Wisconsin, 53703.
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