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Cohort

One of us mastered astrophysics
but later had to learn
the art of climbing poles
and fixing telephone lines
as she dangled in her harness
crazily over the streets of LA.

Another one, renowned
for the number of lovers
she tore through,
took the vows of poverty,
chastity, and obedience
in a cloistered order.

The rest of us
did nothing
to write home about.

—
Ruth Holzer has published ten chapbooks, most recently, On the Way to Man in Moon Passage (dancing girl press) and Float (Kelsay Books). Her poems have appeared in Blue Unicorn, Faultline, Poet Lore, Plainsongs, and previously in Abandoned Mine. She is a multiple Pushcart and Best of the Net nominee.

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