(Alex Wolfe/Unsplash)

Lot’s wife, among the many,

names lost, arrested in their flight,

most commonplace of histories,

becomes by whim, intent or judgment,

most anodyne of condiments,

an apt, if unintended, choice,

obliquely bound to womanhood.

Salt. Seasoner of countless meals,

domestic presence, staple,

residue of tears,

buoyancy, the rocking buoy

saying to drifting children

here, where I am

you may drop your nets,

here is where they were woven.

Telling, too, is its impermanence.

Diminished, dissolved,

reclaimed by rains and soil,

no epitaph, yet embodying

attribute and accolade

bestowed on seasoned men.

Marjorie Mir is a retired librarian whose work has appeared in Atlanta Review, Eclectica, and Kosmos, as well as a number of anthologies. She lives in Bronxville, New York.

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Published in the January 2022 issue: View Contents
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