Rebecca Ingalls
Excerpt from KotaPress Poetry Anthology Volume 2, 2002

the somebody cross

she was royalty and
i was a raw harbinger.
but we clung to the size of weather.
even strokes swum from the trailer park home
pitched forward three ladies,
high from the taste of waking up.
drowsy weekend, canceled school, packed lunch,
burnt shoulders, training bra, no lessons, no lessons,
no lessons...day trip to the Somebody Cross and
the thought of late summer...all keeping in touch
with each other today? not so much.
we collide.
math sits in her head,
a senile judge worthless to its jury,
while old prizes make a stale case
for a former windjammer queen.
with a progression of one year, running relay to the next, to the next.
standing for the Somebody Cross
makes my stomach turn over and grab hold —
list the reasons for mid-summer cold...
this prayer sits centered on my tongue
while my throat searches for a vowel to kick it going.
she's was my Somebody Cross but she's not been
to mass in so long, i think her faith is all gone.
this leaves a heavy relief
that bleeds into sadness,
expertly stitched in this up-down-left-right
to save us from madness.

Author Bio
Rebecca is a graduate of Cornell University and now pursuing her master's degree in English Literature at Boston College. Originally from Maine, she served as editor for an international magazine based in Boston before deciding to return to academia. Now, in conjunction with her degree pursuits (she intends to move toward the doctorate upon completion of her master's), she is also pursuing a career as a poet.