Laura Apol

Regret

It was my clavicle you loved best, blue-tinged
shadow at the base of my throat, a place you said
tasted of lemons and rain. That day in the woodshed,
rusted trowel in hand, I told you about the bloodied lip
and you told me about your new life. I wasn’t ready yet
to go. But way leads on to way: a gravel drive
and a red wheelbarrow to a path over the stream,
the empty field stretching beyond. I want you
to know: our orioles return each May; as always,
I slice oranges, put out sugar water. They leave each June—
one morning I realize they are gone. After so many years
I am still surprised.

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Laura Apol is a widely-published poet, writer and associate professor at Michigan State University. Her work has appeared in numerous literary journals and she is the author of several prize-winning collections of poetry, most recently A Fine Yellow Dust (2021, winner of the Midwest Book Award). A past poet laureate for the Lansing-area, Laura conducts creative writing workshops internationally, nationally and locally.