for Jan Smith
Who took away the snake?
No one took away a snake.
Who took away the snake?
There was no snake.
What is the red rock that lines this path?
Iron. The Germans used to mine it.
What is the red rock that lines this path?
A wall within my dreams.
Where do the hares hide in September?
The island’s dead gorse. Black prickers.
Where do the hares hide in September?
Inside the hungry hunters’ eyes.
When does the owl share its secret name?
Nonsense! Birds have no language.
When does the owl share its secret name?
I hear it only at dawn.
Why has the snake disappeared?
Stop! THERE WAS NO SNAKE!
Why has the snake disappeared?
I buried it, with mercy, by the sea.
Katharyn Howd Machan grew up in Woodbury, Connecticut and Pleasantville, New York. She earned a B.A. in English from the College of Saint Rose, an M.A. in English Literature from the University of Iowa, and a Ph.D. in Interpretation from Northwestern University. Since 1975 she has lived in Ithaca, New York and has been teaching writing at Ithaca College since 1977. In 2002 she was named the first Poet Laureate of Tompkins County, New York. Her poems have appeared in numerous magazines, anthologies, and textbooks, and in 40 collections, most recently Dark Side of the Spoon (The Moonstone Press, 2022, competition finalist), A Slow Bottle of Wine (The Comstock Writers, Inc., 2020, winner of the Jessie Bryce Niles Competition), and What the Piper Promised (Alexandria Quarterly Press, 2018, winner of their international competition). She and her husband, fellow poet Eric Machan Howd, live joyfully with two cats, Footnote and Byron.