Leila K. Norako works as an assistant professor in University of Washington’s English department where she specializes in late medieval literature and culture. Her current projects include a monograph on late medieval crusading literature and a full-length poetry volume that expands upon the themes and topics covered in this chapbook. Nautilus is Leila’s first published collection of poems.
*cover art: Jennifer Park www.naturalicondesigns.com
instagram: @Naturalicon
*author photograph by Carleigh Foggiato (Sweet Poppy Studios)
Tests
A battery of needles,
radiographic dye
pumped into the reaches
of my body
three days after
my third loss—
a futile hunt
for answers.
Nothing to see
or feel, save our bodies
—even our cells—
splayed on tables
of varying sizes
for others to prod.
Kind voices,
gentle hands
cannot blunt
these sharpened
edges.
Curled into myself
on our homeward drive,
I glance up—
a red-tailed hawk
perched on steel,
locks eyes
with mine.