{"id":13740,"date":"2020-05-15T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/two-poems-by-kimberly-ann-southwick\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T12:27:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T17:27:48","slug":"two-poems-by-kimberly-ann-southwick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/2020\/05\/15\/two-poems-by-kimberly-ann-southwick\/","title":{"rendered":"This Line Will Keep You Safe &amp; Warm Coven"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-social-links is-content-justification-right is-layout-flex wp-container-core-social-links-is-layout-765c4724 wp-block-social-links-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-facebook  wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=61556140010887\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M12 2C6.5 2 2 6.5 2 12c0 5 3.7 9.1 8.4 9.9v-7H7.9V12h2.5V9.8c0-2.5 1.5-3.9 3.8-3.9 1.1 0 2.2.2 2.2.2v2.5h-1.3c-1.2 0-1.6.8-1.6 1.6V12h2.8l-.4 2.9h-2.3v7C18.3 21.1 22 17 22 12c0-5.5-4.5-10-10-10z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\n<li class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-instagram  wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/boudin_mcneese\/\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M12,4.622c2.403,0,2.688,0.009,3.637,0.052c0.877,0.04,1.354,0.187,1.671,0.31c0.42,0.163,0.72,0.358,1.035,0.673 c0.315,0.315,0.51,0.615,0.673,1.035c0.123,0.317,0.27,0.794,0.31,1.671c0.043,0.949,0.052,1.234,0.052,3.637 s-0.009,2.688-0.052,3.637c-0.04,0.877-0.187,1.354-0.31,1.671c-0.163,0.42-0.358,0.72-0.673,1.035 c-0.315,0.315-0.615,0.51-1.035,0.673c-0.317,0.123-0.794,0.27-1.671,0.31c-0.949,0.043-1.233,0.052-3.637,0.052 s-2.688-0.009-3.637-0.052c-0.877-0.04-1.354-0.187-1.671-0.31c-0.42-0.163-0.72-0.358-1.035-0.673 c-0.315-0.315-0.51-0.615-0.673-1.035c-0.123-0.317-0.27-0.794-0.31-1.671C4.631,14.688,4.622,14.403,4.622,12 s0.009-2.688,0.052-3.637c0.04-0.877,0.187-1.354,0.31-1.671c0.163-0.42,0.358-0.72,0.673-1.035 c0.315-0.315,0.615-0.51,1.035-0.673c0.317-0.123,0.794-0.27,1.671-0.31C9.312,4.631,9.597,4.622,12,4.622 M12,3 C9.556,3,9.249,3.01,8.289,3.054C7.331,3.098,6.677,3.25,6.105,3.472C5.513,3.702,5.011,4.01,4.511,4.511 c-0.5,0.5-0.808,1.002-1.038,1.594C3.25,6.677,3.098,7.331,3.054,8.289C3.01,9.249,3,9.556,3,12c0,2.444,0.01,2.751,0.054,3.711 c0.044,0.958,0.196,1.612,0.418,2.185c0.23,0.592,0.538,1.094,1.038,1.594c0.5,0.5,1.002,0.808,1.594,1.038 c0.572,0.222,1.227,0.375,2.185,0.418C9.249,20.99,9.556,21,12,21s2.751-0.01,3.711-0.054c0.958-0.044,1.612-0.196,2.185-0.418 c0.592-0.23,1.094-0.538,1.594-1.038c0.5-0.5,0.808-1.002,1.038-1.594c0.222-0.572,0.375-1.227,0.418-2.185 C20.99,14.751,21,14.444,21,12s-0.01-2.751-0.054-3.711c-0.044-0.958-0.196-1.612-0.418-2.185c-0.23-0.592-0.538-1.094-1.038-1.594 c-0.5-0.5-1.002-0.808-1.594-1.038c-0.572-0.222-1.227-0.375-2.185-0.418C14.751,3.01,14.444,3,12,3L12,3z M12,7.378 c-2.552,0-4.622,2.069-4.622,4.622S9.448,16.622,12,16.622s4.622-2.069,4.622-4.622S14.552,7.378,12,7.378z M12,15 c-1.657,0-3-1.343-3-3s1.343-3,3-3s3,1.343,3,3S13.657,15,12,15z M16.804,6.116c-0.596,0-1.08,0.484-1.08,1.08 s0.484,1.08,1.08,1.08c0.596,0,1.08-0.484,1.08-1.08S17.401,6.116,16.804,6.116z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">Instagram<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Kimberly Ann Southwick<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">__________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:25px\"><strong>This Line Will Keep You Safe<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:16px\"><em>after Julia Brandenberger\u2019s \u201cFuneral For Expectations\u201d | January 2, 2020 | Philadelphia, PA<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The women in the corridor with merry, choking laughter,<br>are be-lit behind a door closed to us, caved in darkness,<br>our backs against the studio walls, socked feet on bare wood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The wicks on Julia\u2019s candles dance like she does &amp; then wild<br>with her rage at loss\u2014 the judgement card in the tarot deck<br>but knowing only how to be judged, not how to trust<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">that the way you move through a room holds beauty like light\u2014<br>that the way you move through the room holds light like beauty.<br>The ghost she wrestles, slamming its head\u2014 her past sorrow, anger,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">emptiness, fear\u2014into the floor, does not put up a fight. The spirit world<br>&amp; ringing bells &amp; dancing fire help her process the world\u2014<br>something larger than herself, but also herself, haunted hearts, &amp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">a funeral for an abstraction another reason to wear her best black shirt.<br>The tender way she cradles its head when she places the limp ghost<br>against the wall. The line the candles drew maybe kept us safe from her ghost,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">though not our own. How we wrestle with them, now that we know better how<br>to do so from her lesson in darkness, but not of it. Released to the corridor<br>to find our shoes, the yellow light is both what we expect and no longer<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">what we were taught to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">__________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:25px\"><strong>Warm Coven<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">when you cannot tell if the magic is hidden<br>or has revealed itself wholly, undressed before you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">when you link his arm with yours &amp; your body electric.<br>when summer is coughing like dying &amp; at night so damp<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">the straightest hair curls. the outdoor shower, its wooden<br>floors, the warm puddles in the dark like blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">his shoulder, its rigid muscles, the light of his face.<br>the fire, cedar &amp; pine, the medium rare steak on the smoker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">when the sunset is candy, when the lights suffice, when the mugs<br>&amp; cups hanging above from the nails are yours for the choosing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">when you bury yourself behind sunglass,<br>can\u2019t dig yourself out to breathe, the last word lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">when the voices, when the insects\u2019 mating calls, when<br>the sound of him is a knell, the bells alive waking night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">__________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Kimberly Ann Southwick<\/strong> is the founder and editor in chief of the literary arts journal <a href=\"http:\/\/www.giganticsequins.com\/\"><em>GIGANTIC SEQUINS<\/em><\/a>, which has been in print for over eleven years. <em>ORCHID ALPHA<\/em>, her full-length collection will be published with Trembling Pillow Press in 2021, and a micro-chapbook of hers <em>LAST TO BET: the near sonnets<\/em> is appearing this summer via Ghost City Press. Kimberly lives in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, and is graduating with her PhD in English and Creative Writing from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette this May, having recently successfully defended her dissertation <em>ALETHEIA<\/em>, which includes a poetry manuscript, play, and essay on the poetics of hybridity. She tweets at <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kimannjosouth\">@kimannjosouth<\/a>; visit her at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kimberlyannsouthwick.com\/\">kimberlyannsouthwick.com<\/a> for more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>__________<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"438\" height=\"211\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15484\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1.jpg 438w, https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1-300x145.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 438px) 100vw, 438px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\">&lt;&lt; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/2020\/06\/11\/three-poems-by-seth-simons\/\">Back<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/2020\/05\/20\/two-poems-by-adam-tavel\/\">Next<\/a> &gt;&gt;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">To learn more about submitting your work to <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/boudin-submissions\/\">Boudin<\/a><\/em> or applying to McNeese State University&#8217;s Creative Writing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/mfa-application-submissions\/\">MFA program<\/a>, please visit Submissions for details.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kimberly Ann Southwick __________ This Line Will Keep You Safe after Julia Brandenberger\u2019s \u201cFuneral For Expectations\u201d | January 2, 2020 | Philadelphia, PA The women in the corridor with merry, choking laughter,are be-lit behind a door closed to us, caved in darkness,our backs against the studio walls, socked feet on bare wood. The wicks on&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[252,17],"tags":[75,91,77,18],"class_list":["post-13740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boudin-2020","category-poetry","tag-boudin","tag-kimberlyannsouthwick","tag-mcneesereview","tag-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13740"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22356,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13740\/revisions\/22356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}