Field Studies or The Floating Poem
- Field. Filed. Fled.
- This is a field of tiny bones, all girls.
- Beyond the field is a small pond/river/body of water. Where the mothers take the bonegirls & return alone.
- There is an art to drowning.
- A field is an open expanse of land—a grave.
- First you must submerge the body. Best if head underwater.
- A river—a bed of sediment, water & death.
- You must be prepared to hold the baby girl asunder & not let go. Do not let go. You must be prepared to fight.
- If you return with the girl, he will beat you & then kill you both.
- I should not tell you this: survival is not made for two.
- The hardest part will not be the water, but carrying your limp bonegirl back to the field.
Originally published in Southern Humanities Review, Vol. 49, No. 4. Copyright © 2016 by Ansley Moon. Used with the permission of the poet.