Breath & Shadow
Fall 2017 - Vol. 14, Issue 4
"Leaving for University"
written by
Elaine G. Schwartz
There she stands
faded floral apron neatly tied
paring knife in her right hand
a yellow onion held firmly in the left
she peels it with great precision
golden skin falling to the kitchen counter
followed by layers of translucent flesh
Onion crescents slipping from her fingers
she mutters, onion tears
turns her back to me
Later, driving north on the old coast road,
I remember the onion
her hand grasping the slippery core
not letting go
First appeared in Malpais Review, 5 (2), Autumn, 2014.
Elaine G. Schwartz is a wife, mother, grandmother, former college instructor, social activist and co-founder of the Albuquerque Chapter of Poets Against War. Her work, best described as a tapestry of place and political imagination, has appeared in numerous publications including the Santa Fe Literary Review, Malpais Review and Sin Fronteras.