at the wishbone I had placed
on my mother’s altar and swallow
a knot in my throat. There are many
ways to yearn:
my homesick offering
to my long-dead mother
and the marrow
sucked dry from a wildling
I won’t let outside
to rummage for scraps
for fear she will not come back.
Whitney Egstad is a writer, dancer, and educator in the Denver area. Her poems and essays have appeared in various publications including The Best of the Net Anthology and The Rumpus. Her research, professional, and personal projects are centered on the intersection of healing and the arts.