Petra Darling, recipient of the 2008 AWP Intro Journal Awards:

 

Excerpts from Darling's winning work:

UNLIKE MANY THINGS

My mother captured the moth

between her cupped palms

as it spilled from my closet in a dizzying flurry.

She told me that,

unlike many things,

          the sticker patch in the yard,

          the wasp in the garage,

          the heat of her curling iron,

a moth will not hurt me.

She dried my tears with

soft hands scented with dish soap,

leading me inside.

 

My niece lands in my arms

with a small whirl.

Terrified of something,

she pulls me by the hand into her room.

A moth has landed on her dresser, and she is

frightened of its large, black eyes,

its quivering antennae.

Wide-eyed, she watches as I gently fold my hands around it,

as if praying.  I tell her that the moth will not injure me,

and in return, I will not harm it.

Going to the window,

we watch the moth fly away.

 

Last Updated January 28, 2009