Poetry Contributor
Jody Burke-Kaiser was born barefoot in the Appalachian foothills to a family long steeped in storytelling and sarcasm. She has a MA in literature from Boston College, and an MSN in midwifery from Marquette University. She is a Pushcart Prize nominee, her work has appeared in Panopoly, The Louisville Review, Rhino, Gingerbread House, After Hours, BrainChild, and Pirene’s Fountain.
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Rebecca Harmon
The summer of 2014 I got paid to tie
balloon strings for three hours.
A lady came in demanding
aqua ribbon but we only had teal.
My fingers turned blue from too tight knots.
I liked it.
All my balloon strings tied to you.
Little bands of yellow, purple, and yes,
teal.
Strung together at the ears, wrists, and knees.
Let’s stay like this
you’d say.
Please
I’d reply.
You started undoing strings.
Just one little knot, gnawed
with your teeth.
I tied it to your shirt, belt loop, shoelace.
They all came undone.
