Window Seat Mathematics

Maggie Graber

Subtract the need to arrive at
an answer and add two cornfields
divided by a crossroads. From there

take away the last horses, the sky
subtracting the sun, inserting the moon.

At the Illinois Stateline, remove
the Indiana Dunes, the shoreline mantra
of Lake Michigan, the rhythm of waves

to industrial towers. Add rust, the steel
silhouette of Chicago, the clack-clack
of the El snaking ‘round the Loop,

the long Amtrak rail running south
to New Orleans. Take away the silence

of the train and add the drunkard father
calling his daughter to say he’s proud.

Their conversation passes like trees,
the windowed reflection of clouds
almost taking away your breath.

Maggie Graber's poems have been featured or are forthcoming in BOAAT, The Louisville Review, Yemassee, The Adroit Journal, RHINO, Hobart, Nashville Review, and elsewhere. She is a Luminarts Cultural Foundation Fellow and a recipient of grants and residencies from the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, Monson Arts, and Sundress Academy for the Arts. Originally from the Midwest, she will be attending the University of Mississippi as a PhD student in creative writing in the fall of 2020. Find her online at  maggiegraber.com.