Photo by Wes Hicks on Unsplash
by Jeff Friedman
Hunger is eating my daughter. Driving from state to state, she lives on Trail Mix and Kind Bars—frail as the memory of a father long gone. She hears my voice whispering to her, telling her to stop, to eat a meal and fill her emptiness, telling her to love someone and let herself be loved. She doesn’t know who is speaking or if she is only imagining my voice. Speeding on the highway, she sticks her head out and swallows the wind as if feeding herself on air. In each town, she looks for another shadow to be her father.
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Jeff Friedman has published ten collections of poetry and prose and has collaborated on two books of translations. His most recent collection, Ashes in Paradise, has just been published by Madhat Press. He has received an NEA Literature Translation Fellowship and numerous other awards.
