Lili Raynaud

la madrague (a self portrait)

By: Lili Raynaud

Year: 2024

This piece was published to literary magazine The Weasel, in their Spring 2024 Issue.

here is my kaleidoscopic daydream
bells & birdsong in the spring
sunlight
a beloved kitchen table

i’m waiting
always waiting for the summer
that ruinous luminous
foliaceous season of my dreams

the summer that does come is good
but it’s never good enough

the corn grows tall by the side of the road
i watch it
when it’s grown it means goodbye

we’re driving under the tree tunnel
quiet
my dad knows i like long drives
so he takes the long way home
quiet

& it’s all like
twisting the stem of an apple
one.
june
two.
july
three.
august

give the apple
a name
something to set it apart
you’ll be gone
by the time it’s cut loose
carved into crescents at the kitchen table