A Malediction Forbidding Cursing

…………………..with a wink and nod to John Donne

This is what happens when a woman gets old.
The hinges loosen on her mouth.
Through its portal flow
words her mother never allowed.
But mother’s gone
along with the guilt.
And out they fly—
round, squirming four-letter bombs,
like salmon spawning upstream—
one minute submerged on the tongue,
the next, wet and glistening in sun.
I choose to reel in
none.

***

Linda Simone’s most recent poetry collection is The River Will Save Us (Kelsay Books, 2018). Her poems have appeared in journals and anthologies and on public buses in San Antonio, Tex., and Norwalk, Conn. She was among 30 poets selected for inclusion in San Antonio’s Tricentennial poetry chapbook. Previous publications include Archeology (Flutter Press), the award-winning Cow Tippers (Shadow Poetry Ink), and the children’s book: Moon: A Poem (Richard C. Owen Publishers). http://www.lindasimone.com