As I walk our country road,
a FedEx van passes,
rushing toward my house,
and it occurs to me
it might be her ashes,
from Texas—my sister,
finally coming to visit,
while I sift my body
through the cold snow
drifting my home.
Laura Foley is the author of nine poetry collections. Sledding the Valley of the Shadow (Fernwood Press) is forthcoming in 2024. She has won a Narrative Magazine Poetry Prize, The Common Good Books Poetry Prize, the Bisexual Book Award, Atlanta Review’s Grand Prize and others. Her poems have appeared in many journals including Alaska Quarterly, Valparaiso, Poetry Society London, and Atlanta Review. She lives with her wife and their two romping canines on the steep banks of the Connecticut River, in New Hampshire.