At a seaside campsite, 
in afternoon heat, 
swarms of mosquitoes 
follow us inside our van, 
as we slam 
screens down, still stuck 
with dozens biting 
necks, arms, ankles, 
through thick socks, 
and the dog’s fur, 
till we massacre them 
one by one. 
My wife, wearied 
by difficult family news, 
and driving strange 
highways, 
sequestering with me 
in the draining onslaught 
hisses something 
she remembers 
I said months ago, 
and I bend my shoulder away—
stare out the window 
as shadows 
slowly lengthen 
on the grassy field, 
as the sting 
of our angers 
dissipates, 
as we revise our plan, 
rev the van 
and flee 
the mosquitoes 
of Tatamagouche. 

Laura Foley

is the author of eight poetry collections. Everything We Need: Poems from El Camino was released in winter 2022. Why I Never Finished My Dissertation received a starred Kirkus Review, was among their top poetry books of 2019, and won an Eric Hoffer Award. Her collection It’s This is forthcoming from Salmon Press. Her poems have won numerous awards, and national recognition—read frequently by Garrison Keillor on The Writers Almanac, and appearing in Ted Kooser’s American Life in Poetry.

Her poems have also appeared in Alaska Quarterly Review, Valparaiso Poetry Review, Poetry Society London, Crannog Magazine (Ireland), DMQ Review, Atlanta Review, Mason Street, JAMA, and many others. Her work has been included in many anthologies such as: Poetry of Presence: An Anthology of Mindfulness Poems; Healing the Divide: Poems of Kindness and Connection; and How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope.

Author’s website: www.laurafoley.net