Remedy, by Claire Bateman

There's No Place Like Ma, by Briana Danyele (USA) contemporary. Click on image for artist site.

Remedy
 
The nature of a house is to be porous.
You can’t prevent leakage, seepage, 
especially in spring when their souls grow restless, 
sifting through cracks and gaps
eager to bask in March freshness,
exchange gossip and breath with each other
and tall thoughts with the treetops.
Later, languishing in harsher light, 
they flow backward into their structures,
ready for sleep. 
 
But sometimes a rogue soul refuses to return, 
leaving its habitation listless, its occupants glum.
They must rouse themselves, gather their nets, 
venture deep into the forest’s heart, 
capture a swarm of honeybees, and release it
in the cavities between their walls
to slather the sheetrock with sweetness, 
luring the wanderer home.

Claire Bateman 
 
Claire Bateman lives in Greenville, SC. Her most recent collection is Wonders of the Invisible World (42 Miles Press) and her hybrid collection, The Pillow Museum (fiction/prose poems), is due out in January 2025 with FC2. She is also a visual artist.

Briana Danyele has design experience working for companies such as Prada, Mattel for Barbie, Badgley Mischka, and more. Her self-titled fashion brand has collaborated with Levi's and Bephie's Beauty Supply. Her work has been featured in Beyonce's Black Parade, the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History & Culture, Nordstrom, Teen Vogue, The Wall Street Journal, and other publications. Briana is a published illustrator who has exhibited her fine art skills in several galleries. Her driving force is to create a positive impact on the world by igniting and inspiring creativity in others.