My Mother's Interiority

Abstract

My Mother's Interiority Jennifer Militello (bio) China cups shudder, brittle as fists;breakfronts wire glass to wood.The pious mood of each relic fitsthe beckoning with which we lift it out. The cabinet housescloisonné eggs, a bride and groom,the lean of a globe, lopsided plate.The grate through which we look shines crystal to glaze, brownsmonogrammed lace. The clock handof the tarnished spoon tiltsto degrees signaling evening; its silver bowl clips our gaze.The music box no longer plays,though, wound, it will pluckthrough its tines. The days pose like heirlooms, the daysantique, and no one knows the weekshave ended, the ladle has bent.The gilt trim of the vase lip mends a fracture and chink.The woman who once held itas the gold cooled wore a corset,a pocket watch, a casket, a mask. [End Page 186] Jennifer Militello Jennifer Militello is the author, most recently, of A Camouflage of Specimens and Garments (Tupelo Press, 2016) and Body Thesaurus (Tupelo Press, 2013). Her poems have appeared in Best New Poets, American Poetry Review, The Kenyon Review, The New Republic, The Paris Review, Poetry, Ploughshares, and Tin House. She teaches in the MFA program at New England College. Copyright © 2019 Pleiades and Pleiades Press