Late Summer

At thirteen, I stayed in the valley
with my Science teacher.
Her son lifted me onto his leaning moped.
He told me to hold him tight, but I already knew.

That summer I lived in the cow pond,
on the porch, in the sunken kitchen,
pewter cool, and in the fields that swelled
farther than I could imagine.

I fell in love with Virginia. I fell
in love with the rail-fence
I climbed with her son, the way
his hands fell onto my hips, hoisted
me over the breach between
the house with all its locks
and the wild, wild meadows.

About the author

Anina Robb lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with her husband and two neat kids. She earned an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College…

Read the full bio

Issue 17 · March 2013

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