Everything I Remember About St. Norbert School, September 2001
By Kate Kadleck
How the classroom
clock glowered like
the eye of a Cyclops.
How Ms. Laidley’s
tendrils formed a
tight fist of curls.
How we pretended
not to notice her
tears oozing into
her eyelashes, then
transmuted ourselves
into saintlings for
God’s sake & hers
& yes, maybe our
own, but not because
we were selfish. How
we refused to be
selfish, despite being
gorgeous as Barbies.
How the other girls
purred to life—
their lips shaping
pink O’s like pencil
erasers—when, mid-
rosary, my elbow
knocked the Holy
Mother off her
pedestal. How I
kissed Mary’s corpse
as instructed, gingerly,
tenderly, knowing
it would never be
enough. How, when
the planes sliced
through skyscrapers
on the TV screen,
my stomach churned,
vacant as a tomb.
Kate Kadleck is a writer and relationship therapist based in Dubuque, Iowa. She earned her MS in marriage and family therapy from Northwestern University and is the author of a chapbook, Corpse Pose (Bottlecap Press, 2025). Her work can be found or is forthcoming in places such as Outskirts Literary Journal, boats against the current, Ivy Literary Journal, Rust & Moth, and Moss Puppy Magazine. Kate was also a finalist for Frontier Poetry’s Hurt & Healing Prize as well as Four Tulips’ Fantastic Mischief Contest, and her second chapbook was longlisted for C&R Press’s Winter Soup Bowl Chapbook Awards.
Artwork Source: “Persistent Presence,” Vidya Murali
Artist Statement: (Stencil & Spray paint on paper) When something precious is gone forever, lingering memories offer quiet comfort. The Presence persists as memory, warming the heart and reminding us that what mattered continues to live within us, gently lighting the path through change. Like an imprint of leaves between pages of an old book. This work is a reflection of that feeling.
After a fulfilling life as Homemaker, Vidya Murali (She/Her) is enjoying the sunset years in pursuits that have always been her favorite pastime–arts and crafts. She likes to learn new techniques and keep herself informed of technologies that can aid her creative impulses. Reading and Travel are her other passions. She lives in Bangalore, India, and shares some of her work on Instagram: @vm.yosee
The Turning Leaf Journal 