Zoë Ryder White
Ditch, August 11
Dear—
A handful of nails of differing lengths, Juicy Fruit wrapper, forty of Olde English, shrew (dead,
unmarked), shattered pane, mailbox post, splash of pitch, chicory, loosestrife, goldenrod, milkweed,
vetch, thistle, jewelweed, asters (purple), asters (white), lesser celandine, cabbage moth, clover,
cicada, mullein, nettle, mosquito, condom, seed, seed, seed. I am laying down over here, saying what
I think I see. The horses lean their necks over the fence to crop the long grass, which I think is
called “long grass.” I wave. They nicker. I want to do to the long grass what they do to the long
grass. I have the wrong teeth. There is a green all around here that I do not know how to reach.
Love—
Zoë Ryder White’s poems have appeared in Thrush, Hobart, Sixth Finch, Threepenny Review, Crab Creek Review, and Subtropics, among others. She co-authored a chapbook, A Study in Spring, with Nicole Callihan. Their second chapbook collaboration, Elsewhere, is forthcoming from Sixth Finch in March 2020. A former public elementary school teacher, she edits books for educators about the craft of teaching.
Return to March 2020 Edition
Dear—
A handful of nails of differing lengths, Juicy Fruit wrapper, forty of Olde English, shrew (dead,
unmarked), shattered pane, mailbox post, splash of pitch, chicory, loosestrife, goldenrod, milkweed,
vetch, thistle, jewelweed, asters (purple), asters (white), lesser celandine, cabbage moth, clover,
cicada, mullein, nettle, mosquito, condom, seed, seed, seed. I am laying down over here, saying what
I think I see. The horses lean their necks over the fence to crop the long grass, which I think is
called “long grass.” I wave. They nicker. I want to do to the long grass what they do to the long
grass. I have the wrong teeth. There is a green all around here that I do not know how to reach.
Love—
Zoë Ryder White’s poems have appeared in Thrush, Hobart, Sixth Finch, Threepenny Review, Crab Creek Review, and Subtropics, among others. She co-authored a chapbook, A Study in Spring, with Nicole Callihan. Their second chapbook collaboration, Elsewhere, is forthcoming from Sixth Finch in March 2020. A former public elementary school teacher, she edits books for educators about the craft of teaching.
Return to March 2020 Edition