This Wasn’t Supposed to Be About You

But you follow me everywhere, even
when I sail across seas, live
in other countries, speak foreign
languages. Especially when I speak
foreign languages. They remind me
of your many tongues, fingers
in my mouth, body like a map
revealing unknowns that make me all
at once prepared and still afraid.

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Kate Wylie is a softball coach and writer living in St. Louis, Missouri. She graduated from Webster University in 2018 and is currently pursuing her M.F.A. at the University of Missouri in St. Louis. Her work has previously appeared in Visitant Lit and Sublunary Review, with more forthcoming in 2River View.