Escort Officer Duty

Abstract

Escort Officer Duty Laura Joyce-Hubbard (bio) 1.My son conductshis five-inch flaglike a maestro. Then, a littleseparation. Here,he says, his armoutstretched to me.I take the brokenstaff. He holds the frayedfabric like a mask,eyes on the backsof stars. He delights behindcapsized colors.I bite down No. [End Page 92] 2. The hum of the projector: how to salute during transfer. I can tell you now where the star field is supposed to rest on a closed casket. Taught to fold— taut. 3.He’s three, youngerthan his brotherwho is yellingfrom the muddy double slide. Like roll call,he is summoned. AWOL, he ignores. His morning work:sitting on mulch chips,folding triangles. [End Page 93] Pale, chubby fingerstucking edges tighter,making old glory, like a secret notepassed in class. 4. I can tell you now, the morgue has a classroom. The escorts sit at inkwell desks in dress blues. And when a wedding band is plucked from a debris field, it’s returned in a two- inch ziplock. Initials indicate receipt. Here— [End Page 94] 5.Today, my son’s shoelace dragsthrough an oily sheen. A budding pondhas boiled upover the asphalt drain. Other parentshave complained. Once, the schoolmarked the perimeterof the clogwith yellow hazard tape. I bend over,trying to tie his wet,loose laces taut. 6. Upon presenting the colors to the Widow. Four stars will show if I’ve done it right. [End Page 95] I want to crack the long hand on the analog. It’s Widower. I slide into the hearse next to the downed pilot: Kim. 7.My oldest cries out,splayed like a starfishat the bottom of the slide. My youngest runstoward me, wantingme to lift him intothe bucket swing. He’s left his flag.Unattached, it floatsin the pond’s gleaming. [End Page 96] Laura Joyce-Hubbard Laura Joyce-Hubbard’s recent work appears in Boulevard, Ninth Letter, and Tupelo Quarterly. She’s been awarded fellowships by the NEA and Ragdale to attend residencies, including VCCA. Laura is a veteran of the United States Air Force, where she flew C-130s. She is pursuing an MFA at Northwestern University and serves as a fiction editor for TriQuarterly Copyright © 2022 The University of the South