True Song

by Bridget Kelley-Lossada

(Medea to Jason on the eve of her murdering their children)

My name means dark smoke
in front of the sun.

I am from the south, the east
and the sands under your feet.

I am the night's knifing silence,

apparition of a fury
your nemesis.

Allow me to let you in on a secret—
it's not the voices of crows you hear

it's me. I am raking your name
into the soil underneath your window.

Bridget Kelley-Lossada is a writer of poetry and fiction from Los Angeles, California. Her poems have appeared in a variety of journals and anthologies including Invisible Plane (Spout Graphic Press), Blue Arc West: An Anthology of California Poets (Tebot Bach), and the online journal Moondance.

When asked what poem the word 'cherry' immediately made her think of, she replied, "The word 'cherry' immediately called to mind the Kim Addonizio poem, 'What Do Women Want?' from her Tell Me collection. It begins, 'I want a red dress / I want it flimsy and cheap [...]' I just love its straight-talking, in-your-face rhythm. And it does call to mind cherries for me. Strange, that."

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