Poetry by Sarah Lynn Hurd

      Rob Hurson CC




Stuck to the Roof of My Mouth

Slicked with muck, stark lines from the rain cutting 
across white and black patches, they lower
their great heads to graze. I wrinkle my nose--

the tang of earth and decomposing grass
merges with sweet cream, whipped sugar, and fresh
mint. You always loved cows, shelves in the house

where you’d raised four children on your own were
dotted with porcelain figurines and stuffed 
Holsteins. A possible remnant from youth--

lean-limbed and lovely, just a Kentucky
farm girl relocated to the Great Lakes
State when your dear daddy went to prison

for manslaughter. That subtle southern drawl
circled around like a fly on your hide,
tail swishing without any real attempt

to rid it. Now, I can’t drive past a field
of dairy cattle without skipping like
a stone into the memory of your 

kitchen—early light the morning after
I’d been the first grandchild to ever
spend the night. We sipped cold milk, nibbled toast

with peanut butter. We sat side-by-side
on your red sofa in the little house 
where you’d raised four children all on your own.   

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Pillow Changes
Inspired by Missouri and Iowa's lack of beds at group foster homes leaves at-risk girls without specialized care 

Dear sweet things—let me hold your hands, even
though you’re stronger than corrugated steel 
fortifying bridges you’ve slept beneath. 

This world was not designed for you, for girls
with wistful hearts and choleric tempers,
turned tough like over-kneaded sourdough.

Always room for another boy—twice as
many—but girls are different, harder
to catch, like minnows slipping through the net.

Let me tuck you all into beds designed
to rest your heads for longer than one night,
where the lace-edged pillow never changes 

unless you want it to. Adorn the walls
with posters, notes in purple pen, photos
you’ll look back on with sheepish grins, blushing.

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Sarah Lynn Hurd is a writer and poet living in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her writing appears or is forthcoming in New Flash Fiction Review, Thimble Literary Magazine, and others. Her work often explores grief, sexuality, womanhood, and self-perception. She has a BA in creative writing and English literature from Grand Valley State University.
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