The Turning Leaf Journal

Ogeechee
By Hannah Ryder

do you live there 
in the once-magnificent	       home 
					                   without doors,
peeling
		       goldenrod paint and 

broken windows across from that place where that kid	
								                         died?

the sparrow making its nest
squeaks down as the ancient woman replies

yes	      but one day the live oak will		
						                       take over 
and we will all be returned to the same 
					                  	       ground
that we stand on now. 

we’ll ask it for 
			                forgiveness

and apologize for what we’ve done.

like backwards Jesus, she says. 
					                like backwards Jesus, I reply. 

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Hannah Ryder holds an MFA from Savannah College of Art & Design. Her writing and photography can be found in Great Lakes Review, Port City Review, Qua Literary and Fine Arts Magazine, Tangled Locks Journal, and West Trade Review. Find more at hannahryder.com.

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Artwork Source: “Amours jouant auprès d’une nymphe,” Ker-Xavier Roussel. In the public domain.