Gavage (and the Stress of Flying These Days) by Jennifer Abbott | Poetry

Poetry – Issue 8 | February 2010

Gavage (and the Stress of Flying These Days)

by Jennifer Abbott

The truth is, geese invented it,
fattening themselves to survive months
of mealless flights. It didn’t take long
for us to suspect that stress added flavor,
at least in the liver, that most-taxed organ.

Turned out they were best
when forced with figs, just as sweet
and seeded as old shame,
perfect for the imagination—
tomorrow is always the day of migration,
but no one has to fly anywhere.

Jennifer Abbott lives in New Orleans and has an MFA in poetry from the University of Arkansas. Her poems have been published in Babel Fruit and elsewhere.

Read our current issue, Issue 8 | February 2010:

Literary Bohemian

Poetry – Issue 8 | February 2010