Upon Catching Sight of an Icon in the Next Room

Upon Catching Sight of an Icon in the Next Room

Susan Francino

It has indeed been thorny
thickets and un-ploughed fields,
and the realization that pigs
are no companions at all,
especially at table,
that I grow more ragged
with every step—that
no one is even here
to see my rags; no one
to notice or be dismayed
that I am withered,
from my tunic all the way in
to my greatly disturbed gut bacteria,
and I guess it’s all a way of saying,
I’m really glad to see you.

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Susan Francino
Poet & MFA

Susan’s poetry has recently been published or is forthcoming in The American Journal of Poetry and St. Katherine Review. She also holds a BA in Latin from Hillsdale College and is currently earning an MA in Early Christian Studies from Notre Dame.

Photography by Evan Brorby