Empty Nest, by Lynne Kemen

Collaboration, by Megan Merchant (USA) 2024

​Empty Nest

One wintry afternoon, my son Elliot,
and I agree to collaborate on a collage.
I bring out my crafting materials,
snips of fabric, a page torn from
an old paperback, Bounty paper
towels, and my watercolour set.
I daub the towels with a faint
brush of sage.

We gather some clippings from
the feathers on an asparagus
plant stalk, a coleus leaf, and
some bits of baby’s breath.

Soon, the air smells of melting plastic
from a hot glue gun. That’s the smell
of creativity, I tell him.

A piece of corrugated box, more
snips of fabric. It’s quite involved.
I tell Elliot that he’s my favourite
collaborator.

Elliot is hesitant and wants my help.
I tell him he can do this.
After a moment of thinking, he’s
ready to draw. My son draws
a rudimentary bird who’s wearing
a stovepipe hat.

The cartoon has enormous eyes.
We laugh as I add Queen Anne’s
Lace to the bird’s cravat.
Handwritten rickrack runs
along the edges.

Too soon, he will be too busy
to spend time with me. He will
roll his eyes and sigh heavily,
like his father, who moved out
a few months ago.

 I tell myself and Elliot that I’m fine
and can barely recall what my husband

looks like. Lies, of course,
but Elliot is kind
enough to nod absently.
He’s suddenly busy with his
scissors and looks away.

I notice how much he’s grown,
matured, taller, skinny,
and stronger this year. That
beautiful skin is toughening, and
he has a feathery beard under
those beautiful lips. He no longer
tolerates being cuddled.

Lynne Kemen

Lynne Kemen’s full-length book of poetry, Shoes for Lucy, was published by SCE Press in 2023. Woodland Arts Editions published her chapbook, More Than a Handful  in 2020. Her work is anthologized in The Memory Palace: an ekphrastic anthology (Ekphrastic Editions, 2024), Seeing Things and Seeing Things 2 (Woodland Arts, 2020 and 2024). Lynne is President of the Board of Bright Hill Press and has served on many other not-for-profit boards. She is an editor and interviewer for Blue Mountain Review. She is a nominee for a Pushcart Prize (2024).