Happy to hear that you and Antigone are spending time together. It did
come as a surprise, although I’m not sure why. Thinking about it, the
“incipient sisterhood,” as you called it, seems natural. The problem with
a legacy of living at the behest of others is that when that implodes, it
leaves a crater meant only for a hermit. Both of you went through that
once you were freed by betrayal. It’s so much easier to be freed by one’s
own agency, but – even with the steep cost of being categorized as
expendable – the freedom to make some choices in one’s own life seems
worth it. At least to me. Now, let me hasten to add – I am friends with
both Feiga and Ella, as you are, and I recognize and agree with the
cogency of their arguments regarding the critical role kinship plays –
or, more accurately, fellowship – in human development.
Poem, in its entirety, is available in the printed version of the current issue.
Bio:
Carol Shillibeer’s poems have appeared in many print and online publications, including Contemporary Verse 2, ditch, Drunk Monkeys, filling Station, FreeFall, the Malahat Review, Modern Poetry Quarterly Review, Posit, Ricepaper, Room, and the South Shore Review. She has received nominations for both Pushcart and Best of the Net prizes. She is currently working on The Calamitous House of Kindness, a collection of poems recounting conversations with five women from history.