June 2018
Kate Sontag
sontagk@ripon.edu
After retiring from 22 years at Ripon College, I have moved to the Berkshires with my husband and two spaniels. While I miss my students, colleagues, prairie walks, and skies filled with sandhill cranes, I am nourished by the beauty of the mountains every time I walk up the road or take a drive. Co-editor (with David Graham) of After Confession: Poetry as Autobiography (Graywolf), my most recent publications include Cooking With The Muse (Tupelo), SoFloPoJo, One, and Crab Orchard Review.​

False Blouse
 

Consider this fabric’s synthetic blue sheen,
its half-sister luster a fitting way to elegize
our shared mother cloth. Chosen to glamorize
clichéd cotton button-downs, it hangs pristine
in cave light, the low cut v-neck still a surprise
each spring. While all her gifts contain white lies
they comfort with finesse. Take this pashmina
shawl so akin to true cashmere, it reasserts
a wintry sibling plush between us to gather
for warmth. And this bosomy birthday blouse
worn once, tag torn ragged in fits and starts
with moody blood love? I could never bear
the Goodwill bag. Faux silk fills my house.   
 ​​© 2018 Kate Sontag
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