Published July 21, 2026
I think about how your hair is sheared short
as though you were an apple tree,
your branches cut into small, fragile pieces.
when my father passed away, I printed out his university faculty
page and buried it beneath an apple tree with hope
that it would grow me a new father.
I miss him for the way his skin used to fold over
like a moon violent in its softness, how:
1. he’s a dead man with a body like a trout
who has just ripped off its scales.
2. he’s a dead man who, before he died, liked to stand
on top of the one cliff that looks out onto town.
3. in my dreams, he's a dead man
with no hands with which to shoot.
4. he is a dead man.
here: I will tell you who I love, for a dare.
here: this is an experiment.
here: my father knows a lot about experiments,
about how they’re stories of death, mostly.
here: on Judgment Day, on the day my father died,
we’re all experiments; we’re all experimenting with those we love
in terms of the way we kiss them:
we go into the woods
just to touch each other’s faces,
trace the slopes of each other's noses.
you tell me that I got my nose from my father,
aquiline. I imagine his (our)
nose(s) bleeding in his (our) sleep.
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140,571 Literary Works • 673,514 Reviews
I found, on the Wayback Machine, a faculty video of you from 2002. I had to convert it to mp4 to hear your voice again for a measly few minutes. I found, as well, a sweater of yours in the back of my closet. It smells like Cardiff, and wool, and 2006, forever.
Hi! I just finished reading some of your poetry and absolutely loved the imagery and emotion behind your words. I’m a commission artist specializing in custom book covers, minimalist line art, and interior illustrations for poetry books. I'm currently open for new commission projects and would love to illustrate a cover or interior artwork for your collection. If you're interested, feel free to reach out on Discord (chloemadisonn) or Instagram (elsaa.uwu). If not, no worries at all keep writing beautiful poetry!
Regards,
Chloe
wow
I've been meaning to review this since I first read it a few days ago and could never find the right words to do it justice. This is clearly a deeply personal poem, and the feeling and love radiate through it - no, permeate through it.
The stand-out thing to me is that through your grief, your father does not stay singular. He fragments into a numbered list of images and ideas. First he is a father, then he is dead, then he is an idea and a memory to plant and try and regrow. Then he is a dead trout, a man on a cliff, a man with no hands, and a dead man. He is also now enamoured in this poem. This formally enacts the way that mourning someone can make them multiply into multiple, incompatible memories rather than one, big coherent loss.
My favourite stanza is:
It reminds me of my favourite book, We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. The main character, Merricat, buries treasures around the grounds of the house in order to protect her and her sister from harm. It's a magical ritual, and that's what planting his university faculty picture feels like.
I have no critique. This is truly a beautiful poem <3
Hey there, orb! I am so excited to review this poem, I've had it bookmarked since you posted it! I'm going to be using the Team Egg template today, since it's review day
The Shell: A Round Interpretation - Overall Thoughts
ugh you pulled me in on line one and didn't let me go until the poem was over. Just fantastic work! There's very few spots where I feel like your imagery or narrative could be developed, it's overall just a very strong piece.
The Yolk: The Best Bits
All of it?
The Egg Whites: Time to Stir - Suggestions
It's funny, because I actually think one of my favorite parts is a part that needs cut and/or moved to elsewhere in the poem. The shift from lines 1-3 to the lines about the father figure doesn't feel natural to me, though I can see what you're trying to do by setting up this image of this subject being a nurturer and protector through the personification of an apple tree - but it just doesn't feel like it flows well. Perhaps even shifting around to start with the father lines first?
maybe something like that?
Ugh I really want to love the list but... it falls a little flat for me here. It just feels kind of random? I think it would be a touch stronger of a stanza if you just had this written out without the numbered list. The repetition of "he is a dead man" is effective and I don't want it to get lost behind this motif that I'm not sure lands with any type of impact.
The last thing I'll say is I wished this poem went on for just a bit longer and returned to the original image of the subject being an apple tree/the resurrection of a father. In the second stanza I feel like the narrator is attempting to deconstruct their idealized father in their head and remind themselves of who their father actually was - and it's really beautiful. You carry this through the fourth stanza, but then the final stanza returns to it being about the narrator/subject's relationship and you also introduce this new formatting wit the "his (our)" motif. This is the third formatting theme you've introduced (first the lists, then the "here:" and now the parentheses). I'd recommend in editing to pick one or two and repeat them throughout the poem to improve the flow from stanza to stanza. For now, it feels a little incomplete ending with that final stanza. Just some food (breakfast, of course
Overall, just 10/10 knocked it out of the park. Nice work! Happy editing!
xoxxo
Sizzle
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oh this is so gorgeous
This is so good!! I’m obsessed with the way you write. Oh, it feels like I’m reading a classic poet. Heartfelt work<3