Three Poems by Kim Farrar

Fatal

The owl, a sign of hope,
perched on a limb of your tulip tree.
I could see the orange stamen
inside the yellow cupped flowers.
You were proud of your backyard
and the pit weeded to plant potatoes
for the first time. I had my doubts
about the clay Ohio soil and fits
of rain and drought. That was eight days ago,
the final time your only son would drop by
with his laundry and shy disposition.
My friend imitated the owl’s cry:
Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you?

*

The Mouse

At the coffee bar in Grand Central’s food court,
         we watch what I think is a single leaf
tumble across the floor, swept in the current of
         suitcase wheels and sneakers.
I’m with my daughter who’s 29 and, recently,
         joined Coffee Club at her program.
I like it. The grown-up-ness. The leaf skitters,
         shoes walk, wheels pivot
then it zips beneath the Los Tacos counter.
         “It’s a mouse,” I say, delighted
to see a wild animal among the chaos.
         “It’s a mouse,” she echoes,
but with more excitement—
         How much longer can I keep her home?
         Who will take her to the dentist?
We sip our coffee; I check the time.

*

The Structure

The aluminum booth stands alone
next to the parallel abandoned tracks.
I’ve seen it before along the N line—
a rusted shell with a missing window
and, like always, I want to go inside.
I want to shed my own womanly life,
whittled by mother/daughter duties.
And like a detective, I’ll run my fingertips
over the oily buttons, curve my palm
around a lever that was a track-switcher
used to clear collisions. I’ll stand
framed at the missing window,
look down the tracks like a kid
and claim it all as my secret kingdom.

*

Kim Farrar is a writer and collage maker. Her full-length poetry collection, The Impossible Physics of the Hummingbird, was published by Unsolicited Press in 2025. She’s the author of two chapbooks published by Finishing Line Press. Her poetry has appeared most recently in Alaska Quarterly Review, New Ohio Review, and Midwest Review. Her essays have been published in New Millennium Writings, Illness & Grace, Voices of Autism, and Reflections. She is a four-time Pushcart Prize nominee. Her work can be found on her website at Poetrysite.blog.