K. Hartless

Hidden In Childhood

I’m so pleased to announce that at least on of my poems will be featured in Hidden in Childhood: A Poetry Anthology set to be released by Literary Revelations Publishing House late January 2023. A huge thank you to Editor Gabriela Marie Milton for including my voice in her collection.

I don’t think there were many people who knew me well during my childhood. I remember when I decided to try out for a Christmas play, my parents were surprised that I could even sing as they’d never heard me singing by myself.

So many things are hidden in childhood. I’m sharing a poem that will not be in the collection, but one which was inspired by my own voyeuristic childhood as the middle child of three daughters. This poem is paired with a painting by Leonor Fini painted in 1939 entitled “Two Women.”

Happy holidays!

Winter Escapade

After Candlemas,

my sister slips on her holly tights,

buttons a branching blouse, 

her chest, two small plums

fit for a stocking,

her toes sled the icy hallway, 

blissfully unaware of a drop-off.

As if in a trance, she will present

her groomed foliage, a pigeon,

her pleasing shape, a turtledove,

and her glowing hair,

a purified Christmas tree

ready to be burned.

And I am in awe 

behind crêpe-colored door,

eye to keyhole, 

taking in her blessings; 

a lamb to be lost 

to an unfriendly coastline.

© 2022 | K.Hartless

What things are hidden in your childhood?

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