Emily Hyland’s poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in The Brooklyn Review, Neologism Poetry Journal, Sixfold, The Virginia Normal, and Stretching Panties. A restaurateur and English professor from New York City, she received her MFA in poetry and her MA in English education from Brooklyn College. Her cookbook, Emily: The Cookbook, was published by Ballantine Books, an imprint of Random House, in 2018.
FRIED BABY ARTICHOKES
I looked at many
recipes but I knew
you could describe the
process clearly
so I called, and
I was right. Never
not going to be
mad at you
and the time has
long passed anyway—
affidavits signed
we only have to wait
fifteen to ninety
days now, I
carry this
story of you.
How does it feel
to finally be almost
divorced? Is it
what you wanted
after all? You say you
still have
your shoes on,
that you
just walked into your
new apartment and are
unpacking, you
don’t want to
talk about this—I
interrupt—I get it
there is no place
for familiar
conversation with a
stranger when I
know now how
to pan fry
the carciofo
with precision.
