The Ofi Press Magazine

International Poetry and Literature from Mexico City

Alarie Tennille: 1 Poem Published

Poem by Alarie Tennille (USA)

Published in The Ofi Press issue 41

 

Waking in the Morgue

Ostrow Lubelski, Poland

 

Voices. Echoes. Stench

of antiseptics. Not my room

at home. I push, pull, find myself

 

inside a soft sac. Dear God, no.

Don’t let me be back in the womb.

I don’t want to start again.

 

I’m 91 years used to Janina.

Am I still female? Still Polish?

I thrash, try to use my own weak

 

contractions to get this over.

I hear a zip, squint into the light,

tell the man peering in

 

I want a cup of tea.

About the Poet

Alarie Tennille (alariepoet.com) was born and raised in Portsmouth, Virginia, and graduated from the University of Virginia in the first class admitting women. She serves on the Emeritus Board of The Writers Place in Kansas City, Missouri. Alarie has published two poetry collections, Running Counterclockwise and Spiraling into Control, and her poems have appeared in numerous journals including  Margie, Poetry East, Wild Goose Poetry Review, I-70 Review, and Southern Women’s Review. 

Image: "Morgue" by Jorge Gonzalez.