The Hard Winds of Kentucky I know you, Old Kentucky. Your petal hands below the callused hard. Your Tulip Poplar mornings, branches lifting prayers into the gray. It’s December now, and the Cooper’s hawks forget which way to fly. A raging torrent sweeps suffering to folks already grasping for a light. It’s how it always is, isn’t it. Since time was born, those struggling pay the highest price. Signs of love pour in from every corner, over broken-porch-swing fields and dreams in rust. Stories lay scattered through the shadows, waiting for a cue. To tell their newest twist on starting again.
Sarah Mackey Kirby grew up in Louisville Kentucky. She is the author of the poetry collection, The Taste of Your Music (Impspired, 2021) Her work has been published in Impspired Magazine, Muddy River Poetry Review,Ploughshares, Third Wednesday Magazine, and elsewhere. Sarah loves to cook and feel summer dirt on her hands. She and her husband split their time between Kentucky and Ohio. https://smkirby.com/
Amethyst Review 