Madelyn Garner

‍ ‍

Of Memory

think glimpse, cadence of a lightning strike burnt on the retina; flick of a wren’s wing;

think thirty second video of a worn school desk, hand practicing L’s; in another flashback
a Japanese peony a heartbeat away from bloom as bees sip at the nectar, ants crawl up stems.

think a touch to the thigh as fingers linger; think losing your virginity on a plaid blanket
spread on a July lawn, one of many scenes circling the cerebral cortex—surprise!

think newborns caught between liquid and air; think diapers and playgrounds; think
graduation caps thrown upward; think last breath for one, rigor and mortise; think wail.

think stages of life divided by partitions, or semi-colons, face in the mirror rememorying.

think retirement filled with steeples, golden domes, marble figure of Venus de Milo;
think moats, tote laden tourists; think high tea in a celebrated ancient garden. Yes, I say,

think memories like small bodies tumbling one after another on a mat; a gear shifting
into reverse; think flow, dominos, or sparks in all directions; think   &    &    &    

Winner of The Western Humanities Review Poetry Prize and runner-up for the Humboldt Prize, Florida Review, Madelyn Garner’s writing has appeared in The Best American Poetry, Alaska Quarterly Review, Laurel Review, Sand Hills, Salamander, Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Tar River, Pembroke Magazine, The Pinch, and Southern Indiana Review, among others.  She is the co-editor of the poetry anthology, Collecting Life: Poets on Objects Known and Imagined.  Her debut poetry manuscript, Hum of Our Blood, winner of Tupelo/3: A Taos Press July Open, was a finalist for Colorado Book Award.  Her most recent collection is The Luminous Between (3:A Taos Press, 2025).