March 2018
Beate Sigriddaughter
sigriddaughter@gmail.com
I grew up in Nürnberg, Germany, near the castle and World War II ruins, and now live in Silver City, NM, where I am currently poet laureate. When not playing with words, I love to walk on nearby mountain paths. My third collection of poems, Xanthippe and Her Friends, is just out from FutureCycle Press (February 2018). For more information, please visit www.sigriddaughter.com.

SARTRE BY THE RIVER
 
 
Emily sees her former self read Sartre
by the river on a misty Sunday morning.
Nobody, she believes, knows where she is,
what she is doing. Her parents think
she went to church, she thinks,
to the late morning sermon, her hymnal
in her baggy red purse instead of
Being and Nothingness of which
she doesn't understand a word, even
in translation. No matter. The title,
lovely, certainly intrigues. She wants
to say no to something without hurting
anyone. And so her life begins
with secrets and the scent of grass,
ducks on the water, words on the page,
wind in her problematic hair.
"Sartre by the River" was first published by Figroot Press (December, 2017)
© 2018 Beate Sigriddaughter
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