Transition
 for Ruby & Ruby 

 
this room holds
a rocking chair
a hospital blanket
eager to swaddle
your grandmother
who waited
long enough
to speak your name
and carry it back
to the other side 

BY AMANDA JOHNSTON

the only world you know
where your mother held
softly in her arms    a prayer
to lift up quietly
kissing your lips
and watched you sleep
as air filled and left  
her name in your lungs
like a promise balloon
never to burst 

---

Cave Canem fellow and Affrilachian poet Amanda Johnston has performed internationally for various causes and events. Honors include multiple Artist Enrichment grants from the Kentucky Foundation for Women and the Christina Sergeyevna Award from the Austin International Poetry Festival. She is the founder and executive director of Torch Literary Arts. Currently, Amanda is pursuing her MFA in Creative Writing at Stonecoast through the University of Southern Maine. Her website is: www.amandajohnston.com.