Fall 2008, Volume 5

Poetry by Joanna Lin Want

Remembering Song

My days unraveled
like red ribbons. Eyes darted
around rooms. The looks
were translatable. This was before
I discovered a red skirt sings
a different song
in every country. I was looking
for a bridge, a way
home. I folded
into a boat made of paper, in a stream
full of fish, their red bellies heavy
with coins. I was a
tra-la-la, a b-
flat. The air was cold enough
to split a clarinet.
My wings of silk tore
silent in the wind.


BIO:  Joanna Lin Want received her MFA from Indiana University-Bloomington. She now lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan with her husband, Neil, and their cat, Lola. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Mudfish, Five Fingers Review, Mochila Review, and The Aurorean.