Crumley, Maggie

English

University of Montana

CutBank Volume 1 Issue 4 CutBank 4 Article 19 Spring 1975 Elizabeth On A Hard 14th Maggie Crumley Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/cutbank  Part of the Creative Writing Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits you. Recommended Citation Crumley, Maggie (1975) "Elizabeth On A Hard 14th," CutBank: Vol. 1 : Iss. 4 , Article 19. Available at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/cutbank/vol1/iss4/19 This Poetry is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in CutBank by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact scholarworks@mso.umt.edu. Maggie CrumleyELIZABETH ON A H ARD 14THThis girl whose brown eyes devour books, thick hairfalls to woman’s hips,whose body grew inside my body awhile,whose round faceis foreign and familiar,who borrows my gestures,lends me her clothes,whose survivalfrom her first breathhas seemed crucialto mine,this girlwho’s forgotten hersecret palace, her splendidentries through magic portalsinto amused grocery stores,who doesn’t rememberfloating face down,my futile resuscitation,the uncle who squeezed her stomachtill she vomited waterand breathed, or howI shook for weeks,this girlwho sighs heavily because the frosting slid off her cake and it seems a portent, whose lip droops, is hard to say I love you to, difficult to cheer.38Maggie CrumleyIt used to be easy— clean diaper, tit in the mouth, tickle to the belly, and you’d smile.Now it’s an awkward hug, adult conversation, and pain. I wish for a minute I could pick you up, pat you, say there there, make everything better than it is.39

Elizabeth On A Hard 14th

https://scholarworks.umt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1147&amp;context=cutbank

Elizabeth On A Hard 14th

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

University of Montana