Golden Shovel with Nostalgia (Song of Songs 1:11)

1 Minute Read Time

Lots of tiny gold and silver stars on a black background — Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

I hope children still learn to sing in rounds, the way we 
did in music class—not against our will,

exactly, but maybe without enthusiasm. Make
new friends, began the first part, because you

had to learn life lessons even from the ornaments
of song, everything taught as a reflection of

how we were expected to live. One is silver and the other gold, 
began the second part. Even our early curricula were studded

with the vocabulary of acquisition, with
the belief that friendship must be measured like gold and silver.

Becka Mara McKay

is a poet and translator. She directs the creative writing MFA at Florida Atlantic University, where she is faculty adviser to Swamp Ape Review. Recent work has appeared in Witness, Shō Poetry Journal, Epiphany, and december. Her newest book is The Little Book of No Consolation (Barrow Street Press, 2021).

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