She drowns herself
up in a cold Canadian lake
parks her car in a nearby patch of woods
explains she is tired

Up in a cold Canadian lake
a daughter can imagine lines on her mother’s face
explain she is tired
as she speaks with the coroner

A daughter can imagine lines on her mother’s face
sinking in like her older sister’s body
as she speaks with the coroner
but I cannot reach out to her

Sinking in like her older sister’s body
words shift out of my mouth and feigned strength insists
but I cannot reach out to her
the line of that strong nose

Words shift out of my mouth and feigned strength insists
the body that i’d climb back into
the line of that strong nose
could continue through this searing summer, but

The body that i’d climb back into
parks her car in a nearby patch of woods
could continue through this searing summer, but
she drowns herself.

Anna Lee Goocher is a nanny, DIY music lover, and a student of English Literature at James Madison University. Recently, her poem "Silent Spring" was included in Z Publishing House’s 2017 anthology of Virginia’s Best Emerging Poets.

Illustration by Paul Hostetler