While on the Phone, I Look Out

By Karen Hildebrand

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A white utility truck pulls to the curb, 
stiff as a nun in her wimple, its crane 
lobbing a man into the air to clip 
branches that fondle the wires. 
To the delight of this city dweller, 
a green tractor crawls up hitched 
to eight spirals of hay. The moment these 
behemoths cross paths, a sinkhole opens. 
Anything is possible. I am my country 
cousin, simmering broth, musk of fresh 
love rising. At dusk, Mia and Pearl 
prick up their ears when I call them in, 
low light silvering their fur. Little 
bobcats, they gallop to me, wild.

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Karen Hildebrand is the author of Crossing Pleasure Avenue (Indolent Books). Recent poems appear or are forthcoming in Braving the Body (Harbor Editions), LEON, Mom Egg Review, Scoundrel Time, Southern Poetry Review, Trailer Park Quarterly, Maintenant 18, and Beacon Radiant (great weather for MEDIA). Her writing on dance appears in Fjord Review and The Brooklyn Rail and she has hosted podcast episodes for Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Originally from Colorado, she lives in Brooklyn.

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• 11/7 / Meet the Artist with visiting poet-in-residence Vandana Khanna / The Library at The Betsy-South Beach, Miami Beach, FL / Live and Live-Streamed on Instagram Live/Facebook Live at @swwimmiami / 6:00 pm EST / Free

• 11/7 / Poetry Reading with visiting poet-in-residence Vandana Khanna + local writer Nicole Callihan / The Library at The Betsy-South Beach, Miami Beach, FL / Live and Live-Streamed on Instagram Live/Facebook Live at @swwimmiami / 7:00 pm EST / Free

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