Copyright John Erickson Dulay

Katie Bowler Young


Twilight Walks

Through crowds and parks, past homes and shops,
across crosswalks, uphill, our quiet slipping
into conversation: which way now, our pasts,
what didn’t last: his son’s car, my first marriage,

and then through the narrow gate of a school,
where, near a fountain’s pool, there’s a mural
of a man, his open hands, with a woman, wide-eyed,
birds at her side and in her hair. I like our search

for a particular view, his gestures toward places
he once knew. When we reach that spot where
one lone boulder becomes our bench, I want
to memorize—everything. Homes in the valley,

snug and shoulder to shoulder, lights flickering
on, his arms outstretched toward the Andes.


Katie Bowler Young                            

Katie Bowler Young is author of Enrique Alférez: Sculptor (The Historic New Orleans Collection, 2021), recently featured in a National Endowment for the Arts podcast. Katie is the author of two books of poetry, Through Water with Ease (Louisiana Literature Press, 2019) and State Street (Bull City Press, 2009). Her work has appeared in The Southern Review, The Midwest Quarterly, Soundings East, and other publications. Katie has taught undergraduate creative writing at Warren Wilson College and professional writing at Tulane University. On Twitter @kbywrites.