For “Simple Rules” I was fascinated by the story of the Swiss poet Robert Walser. He died while out on a walk in the snow. A photo of the scene shows his footsteps leading up to where he fell, one arm stretched out, with his hat nearby, as if he died in the act of lifting it to someone in greeting. For “Os Sacrum,” the title refers to the Latin name for our tailbone and means sacred bone. I loved the idea of there being something sacred in our bones. How did it get there? What do we do with it now? 

Carmen Fought (she/her) teaches linguistics at Pitzer College in Claremont, California. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in The 2River View, Driftwood Press Anthology, Hypertext, The Lascaux Review, RHINO and elsewhere. Her favorite hobbies are rescuing dogs from shelters and wine from bottles.

W: https://carmenfought.com/
I: @cfought
F: carmen.fought