Illustration by Tim Robinson.
“I’m shrinking,” I shrieked,meaning aging,nearing deathbecause I thought that to pretendI was the witchIn The Wizard of Ozwas funnyand would thus communicatesomethingif not exactly my feelings.*Cousin Rust,with your look of bloodand sunset,I’m almost in lovewith the lace you’ve madeof metal
Rae ArmantroutRae Armantrout is a professor of writing and literature at the University of California, San Diego, and the author of several books of poetry, most recently Money Shot (2011) and Versed (2009), winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Photo credit: AP Photo/Denis Poroy