Poetry: wintering by Amy LeBlanc
Amy LeBlanc’s poem “Wintering” is a master of the short line—trembling and damaged bodies laid across four syllables. We’re enthralled by the pressed imagery, the slant rhymes, the wish for peace.
Wintering
he torched the skin
that i’m still in.
counting januarys –
i hold my hair back
to sing psalms
and semi vowels.
the wasps will bloat
my belly in december,
gashing panty lines
and pot holes.
the burnt space
will tear from my hips.
i am a calamity
asking for armistice.
Amy LeBlanc
Amy LeBlanc holds a BA (Hons) in English Literature and creative writing from the University of Calgary. She is currently non-fiction editor at Filling Station magazine. Her work has appeared, or is scheduled to appear in Room, Prairie Fire, Contemporary Verse 2, and EVENT among others. Amy won the 2018 BrainStorm Poetry Contest for her poem 'Swell'. Her collection Ladybird, Ladybird is forthcoming from Anstruther Press in fall 2018.
