Wild Turkeys, After Diagnosis

A mother and her nine

plumed babies walk Monroe

street, Sunday morning.

They may be ancient gods.

They may be dumb birds.

I have stopped pretending

to know such things.

After surgery they told me

my uterus was swollen 

to the size of someone 

three months pregnant. 

I have always been good 

at putting on a show. See 

me now, acting as if I’m not 

grieving this line of small 

feathers.

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SARAH KERSEY earned her MFA in poetry from Eastern Washington University in 2022. Her work has been published or is upcoming in Poet Lore, Atlanta Review, Hunger Mountain, and more. She was a finalist in Atlanta Review’s 2022 International Poetry Contest, as well as a finalist in Sunspot Literary Journal’s 2022 Geminga contest. She teaches English at Gonzaga University.

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