Nicole Callihan

Dear doctor—

Spring came,
is here.
Was here.
 
Now gone.
Learned the names
of flowers.
 
Made bread.
Can’t come.
Now, summer.
 
Sideways rain.
Six months
turns nine
 
turns twelve.
My girl, eleven.
The other, eight.
 
Date night
at the dump.
Moon wanes.
 
Still summer.
Now gone.
Was here.
 
Now, fall.
Dear doctor—
must follow up

on follow-up.
On follow-up
must follow up.
 
Dear doctor. 
Moon waxes.
Dear doctor.
 
What now?

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Nicole Callihan's latest book is This Strange Garment (Terrapin 2023). Her work has appeared in Kenyon Review, Colorado Review, Conduit, The American Poetry Review, and as a Poem-a-Day selection from the Academy of American Poets. Find out more at www.nicolecallihan.com