Spring 2010

I guess they must still think of us,
still give our names to what they want and dread.

But we’re retired now.
We keep busy,
rearranging the strait to make it homier,
keeping an eye on the rowdier dolphins.

Yes, we talk all day,
but there’s not much to say about the past.

At night we sleep well,
I cool under my fig tree,
she warm in her cave.



—Sarah Cohen


Sarah Cohen teaches English and writing at the University of Washington in Seattle.