Current
Issue
Fall 2026 / Volume 13.1
Lizzy Ke Polishan
—
Trellis
after Derek Walcott
I was Circe until I was Penelope, and I was Penelope until I was Calypso,
and I was Calypso until I was Nausicaa, and I was Nausicaa until
I was stumbling under sour grapes, and I was stumbling under sour grapes
until I was tied to a pole, and I was tied to a pole until I was sure
I could be trusted, and I was sure I could be trusted until
I was home. I was home, there was nothing
left to be except a beggar and the owner of
a beloved dead dog.
I was home there was nothing left
to be except a suitor, a tempter, tempted, a tempest, a test.
I was home
there was nothing left to be
except a leaf. A branch. A bud. A light.
Lizzy Ke Polishan, a poet and novelist, has recent work in or forthcoming from Epoch, Gulf Coast, Southeast Review, Porter House Review, Black Warrior Review, and many others. She is the Managing Editor of River & South Review, and the author of the poetry collection A Little Book of Blooms (2020). She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two black cats.
