Ephemera
by Megan Snyder-Camp
once meant / anything / that ends within a day
an industry now / for saving / what didn鈥檛 want to be saved
the beauty of the system / a lawyer said / is how the work has been broken down
into such small pieces / that no one / is a monster
orphan trains across the Midwest / now a system / of half a million children
the beds / in the EconoLodge / near the airport
last night / seventeen children / the hotel itself
is not the problem / the beds / where panicked children sleep
the paperwork / renewing our license / how many beds
two open / three total / the distance
between wanting / to keep doing / this wanting
I forget / says a friend wanting to give me books / are you forever mommying
my love for you / is not the problem / but what it shields
what it hides / how it / crests and shapes
About the Author