Verdad Magazine Volume 15
Fall 2013, Volume 15
Poetry by Carina Yun
Letter For Emily Dickinson
I swing my father’s arm,
the morning air moisten-
ing my long jet-black hair.
I pull out my letter
tucked inside my orange
pea coat and rashly drop
my father’s hand, hover
over the sweaty mail-
box, press my lips, sway my
heels, pull back the wet damp
lever, pull hard, and slip
in my kiss. And this is
what I want to remem-
ber: the lever swinging
back, a thump, and the reach-
ing for my father’s hand,
the city fog cover-
ing the better of us.
BIO: Carina Yun was born in San Francisco, California. Her poems have appeared or is forthcoming at Fourteen Hills, Folio, Poet Lore, The Northern Virginia Review, and others. She works for the federal government and studies poetry at George Mason University.