Once
Don Welch

Once

Once she swam nude       the water
             flashing her contours

the thresh of her limbs remembering
             the men she made suffer

Now        deep into shudders    she stands
             before mirrors

Her children say there’s no ermine
             even for collars

Don Welch

is the author of Homing: Poems, forthcoming from Rogue Faculty Press. He has recently contributed poetry to the Sewanee Review.