Poetry
Mariel Boyarsky

I saw the axe
resting against the side of the house.

Its blade was kissing the earth,
the sweet, cold metal and
red warmth of dirt:
one inside the other.

This
is why my father has an axe—
to bury the sharp danger of it
in the womb of something
tender
low
and soft.

Mariel Boyarsky is 17 years old and a senior in high school, but she will be attending Vassar College in the fall. She has been writing poetry for four years, and hopes to pursue a career in creative writing. She has been published in a variety of local, state, national, and international publications and contests, including Can We Have Our Ball Back?, the Anne Arlys Bowler Poetry contest ($100), and the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts ($1,000). E-mail: marzymoogirl[at]yahoo.com.