“The Empty Nester, Five Years Along” by Julie Paul
Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “The Empty Nester, Five Years Along” by Julie Paul.
The Empty Nester, Five Years Along
By Julie Paul
This table bears the scars of art,
weeping wax and long division.
And I, the mom, have played my part—
this table bears the scars of art,
paint, packages to send my heart
to my heart, a ceaseless mission.
This table bears the scars of art,
weeping, wax and long division.
Copyright © Julie Paul
Previously published n Whiny Baby (MQUP April 2024)
Julie Paul lives and writes in Victoria, BC, when she’s not visiting her daughter in Montreal. She has published three short story collections and two books of poetry, both with McGill-Queen’s University Press. The Rules of the Kingdom (2017) was shortlisted for both the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize and the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award. Her most recent collection is Whiny Baby (2024).
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