After Divorce

by Catherine Arra

A new narrative

without labels, husband—wife.

A flooded washout

no ownership

claims, entitlements

polarized showdowns

walk twelve paces, turn-draw-shoot.

           

Muddy waters settle.

Capes, masks, and superheroes

return to Marvel Land.

Barbie and Ken

to the cardboard box.

Mommy and Daddy

to their beds

out of ours.

                                   

We’re walking

a trestle bridge

above the old canal town

where water and tracks cross.

* * * * *

"After Divorce" is from Catherine Arra's poetry collection (Women in Parentheses) (Kelsay Books, 2019).

Catherine Arra is the author of (Women in Parentheses) (Kelsay Books, 2019), Writing in the Ether (Dos Madres Press, 2018), and four chapbooks, the latest being Her Landscape, Poems Based on the Life of Mileva Marić Einstein (Finishing Line Press, 2020). Her poetry and prose have appeared in numerous journals online and in print, and in several anthologies. Arra is a native of the Hudson Valley in upstate New York, where she teaches part-time and facilitates local writing groups. Find her at www.catherinearra.com.