appealing

The Maynard
Fall 2019

Janet Youngdahl
0:00
 
 

Border Song: Within the Paper Spiral of Wasps

In the outermost cell of her nest
the female bone-house wasp
stacks dead ants
to hide the odour of her young

The layers woven between the breast
and the seeking mouth

In the outermost wasp, the female cell
nests the ant bone-house
to stack the dead, an odour
her young hide

I wrap you tightly against my skin

In the outermost female
dead young stack their cells.
bone-house ants hide
the wasp-odour of her nest

Your breath the quiet scent of milk

In the outermost stack of the dead
females hide the bone-house.
young wasp cells carry the
odour of ant’s nests

The swirling impossible separation
of my arm from its carry

In the outermost cell of her nest
the female bone-house wasp
stacks dead ants
to hide the odour of her young