Kathryn Dunlevie © 2023
by Leonora Simonovis
Conception
She plucks off the feathers, shoves them in her mouth: an overwhelming pleasure, a pliable aftertaste. She didn’t know they would quiver and flare, is surprised by their liveliness. The sight of the creature they came from gives her pause. Should she find another medium next time? Then again, it’s not the first time she’s sought kinship in one exquisite bite. What will grow inside of her this time? What, if anything, will ask to be named?
Leonora Simonovis is a Venezuelan American poet, editor, and professor of Latin American literature and creative writing in Spanish at the University of San Diego. Her debut poetry collection, Study of the Raft, won the 2021 Colorado Prize for Poetry and received Honorable Mention at the 2022 International Latino Book Awards.