Hatchlings
by Kim Aubrey
Sit on evening steps, let sunlight stream in,
surrender to its warm westerly current.
Dragonflies, newly hatched, tails still tender,
will alight each by each on a cottage window frame.
One will land on your wrist, another will follow
to perch on your shoulder. As they stay, you’ll sit
with their bodies’ dark pulsing, how they rouse
unforeseen, slightly troubling thoughts that will
feel like a benediction—touches from those lost.
Attempt to shrug them away and they’ll hold
tighter, feet sting skin, prick up old fears of love
that’ll prod you to stand, shake them off.
Later when they return to settle
on your bared knees, thank them
for their trust, twin infants suckling,
their silence warm as sun.
Kim Aubrey’s story collection, What We Hold in Our Hands, was published by Demeter Press. Her work has appeared in journals and anthologies, including The New Quarterly, Numero Cinq, upstreet, Event, Best Canadian Stories, and How to Expect What You’re Not Expecting. Kim has an MFA in Writing from Vermont College and leads an annual writers’ retreat in Bermuda.
by Kim Aubrey
Sit on evening steps, let sunlight stream in,
surrender to its warm westerly current.
Dragonflies, newly hatched, tails still tender,
will alight each by each on a cottage window frame.
One will land on your wrist, another will follow
to perch on your shoulder. As they stay, you’ll sit
with their bodies’ dark pulsing, how they rouse
unforeseen, slightly troubling thoughts that will
feel like a benediction—touches from those lost.
Attempt to shrug them away and they’ll hold
tighter, feet sting skin, prick up old fears of love
that’ll prod you to stand, shake them off.
Later when they return to settle
on your bared knees, thank them
for their trust, twin infants suckling,
their silence warm as sun.
Kim Aubrey’s story collection, What We Hold in Our Hands, was published by Demeter Press. Her work has appeared in journals and anthologies, including The New Quarterly, Numero Cinq, upstreet, Event, Best Canadian Stories, and How to Expect What You’re Not Expecting. Kim has an MFA in Writing from Vermont College and leads an annual writers’ retreat in Bermuda.
