Iowa Writes

CHAD CHMIELOWICZ
In the Morning of the Day


My little sister is at the counter
talking to the dead birds she's
brought in. Little featherless
affairs jettisoned from the nest.
She is kicking her legs on the high stool,
chin in her hands. Each is arranged
on a tidy pile of grass. I am glad
to not be her parent; one of her laces
is undone. It is not her innocence
I envy. She asks me why
they're see-through, why their heads
and bellies are oddly large. They are
very smart and very hungry. What should
we feed them? Dirt. You can't eat
dirt!? (In her alarm, dirt rhymes with cruet.)

About Iowa Writes

Since 2006, "Iowa Writes" has featured the work of Iowa-identified writers on The Daily Palette, and it has recently expanded its scope to include work published by Iowa journals and publishers. Curated by the staff of The Iowa Review, "Iowa Writes" features poetry, fiction, or nonfiction several times a week on the Palette. In November, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated Iowa City, Iowa, the world's third City of Literature, making the community part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. Iowa City has joined Edinburgh, Scotland and Melbourne, Australia as UNESCO Cities of Literature.

Find out more about submitting at iowawrites.org


CHAD CHMIELOWICZ

Chad Chmielowicz graduated from the Iowa Writers' Workshop in 2003 and worked at the International Writing Program for 3 years. He lives in Chicago.

This page was first displayed
on August 11, 2006

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