Navy Brat

By Cornelia Asjes

A Navy Brat is built
Lightweight, hollow boned, but
Flightless in her youth

Yet she must move
In big motions like an ocean
Or a long-legged stork.

She hurts from tides
Too grand to handle, cannot stand
The shuttling of her driftwood-possessions in

A great cross-country gesture
Roots pulled up, boots
And books and dolls uprooted.

She, a Kittiwake, must mince, and even
Her little stride-imitations, migrations,
Mock a greater range but cannot reach.

It’s hard for her to move
She hasn’t felt her smelter-
Growing-pains yet. She isn’t built ready.

****

Cornelia Asjes is a full-time nanny, working toward her MFA in Creative Writing and Media Arts at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. A “Navy Brat,” she is the daughter and granddaughter of Naval Officers. In her spare time she enjoys practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, singing in her church choir, and spending time with her cat, Deuteronomy.