Adrienne Barrios wonders if Leigh Chadwick’s daughter will ever read these poems and feel the way a coyote feels when returning to its den after a long hunt, or if she’ll think, Wow, these are weird and Who the fuck is Adrienne Barrios, or if she’ll feel nothing at all. Leigh Chadwick says, Let’s not think about the future now. And, The future makes me sad. Adrienne Barrios asks, Is there a time that doesn’t make you sad? Leigh Chadwick says, No. Then she says, Yes. She says, That time my husband climbed into the base of my spine and for three mornings in a row I woke up with sunshine in my veins. Adrienne Barrios and Leigh Chadwick both look at Leigh Chadwick’s daughter. They see that she glows. They take her out into the yard and she is the second sun. She grows a halo where halos were always meant to grow. The day quiets. For exactly twelve seconds, no one pulls the trigger of a gun. The sun sighs. Leigh Chadwick’s daughter sucks her thumb as her halo turns tangerine.
Leigh Chadwick is the author of the poetry collection Your Favorite Poet (Malarkey Books, 2022) and the collaborative poetry collection Too Much Tongue (Autofocus, 2022), co-written with Adrienne Marie Barrios. Her poetry has appeared in Salamander, Passages North, The Indianapolis Review, and Hobart, among others. She is a regular contributor at Olney Magazine, where she conducts the “Mediocre Conversations” interview series. Find her on Twitter at @LeighChadwick5. Adrienne Marie Barrios is the editor-in-chief of Reservoir Road Literary Review and CLOVES Literary and author of the collaborative poetry collection Too Much Tongue (Autofocus, 2022), co-written with Leigh Chadwick. Her work has appeared in trampset, Passages North, No Contact Mag, and Identity Theory, among others. She edits award-winning novels and short stories. Find her online at adriennemariebarrios.com.