Potions Homework

By Lynne Sargent

Combine

the necessary elements:

that when

reduced & synthesized

will give a woman

back her body,

bring it to class in the morning.

Mix

the herbs and spices:

the neighbors won’t disparage,

or call the landlord over

when the smell conjures

the old country

make it sweet for both of them,

write down the recipe.

Sift

the ground powders:

that will bring comfort to a soul

lacking, that fills acquired need with habit.

Give them a dust that will break

it, gentle as snow

place it on their tongue, watch it dissolve

Report

the results. 

*

Lynne Sargent is a writer, aerialist, and philosophy Ph.D student currently studying at the University of Waterloo. You can find her writings in venues such as Strange Horizons, Truancy, and Augur Magazine, among others. She was a 2018 Rhysling and 2018 Aurora Nominee for poetry. If you want to find out more you can check out a complete list of her works at scribbledshadows.wordpress.com or reach out to her on Twitter @SamLynneS.