PENELOPE LOOMS FORSYTHIA

by Judith Skillman 

This my wand of yellow,
my hint of olive,
my myth of three more snows.
This my shattering—to come forth
from under, where the owls
plied me with their shades,
eyes glinting odalisques set back
in trees growing downward, roots
setting forth in the body that was mine
when and before.

This my dowry, my semblance of water
sparkling as for hunting and rutting,
the dance I will not partake of
but sit and watch,
my long gown gathered 
in smooth veinless hand,
my breasts no milk blue or white,
and yet I breathe as no nag
noosed and lassoed into Hades
ever saw the Orpheus 
who turned her back to shadow.

Judith Skillman’s poems have appeared in Commonweal, Threepenny Review, Zyzzyva, and other literary journals. She has received awards from Academy of American Poets and Artist Trust. Oscar the Misanthropist won the 2021 Floating Bridge Press Chapbook Award. Her recent collection is Subterranean Address, New & Selected Poems, Deerbrook Editions 2023. Visit www.judithskillman.com