by Claire Scott
LOT'S WIFE
SHE WHO WRAPPED WHAT LITTLE she had in a worn scarf
walked for two days and two nights
under the glare of the sun
the skull of the moon
she who loved the city with its red spirals,
clay dwellings, its desert dust and grit
the spinning wheel where she sang of Sodom
while twisting flax and fleece
the city of a forever-unnamed woman who
prepared a feast for two strangers
baked flat bread over a low fire
roasted lamb dipped in salt
she who lingered and looked back
rough hands shading her eyes
she who lingered and turned
was it to see if her daughters were behind
dresses dragging on the bone-dry plain
did she forget the angels’ words
worn from hours of walking
did she mean to disobey, tired of men’s
orders, tired of a harsh god’s orders
no longer caring, perhaps even longing
to disappear before
her city was destroyed by fire or
swallowed by the sea
CLAIRE SCOTT is an award-winning poet who has received multiple Pushcart Prize nominations. Her work has been accepted by the Atlanta Review, Bellevue Literary Review, Enizagam and Healing Muse among others. Claire is the author of Waiting to be Called and the co-author of Unfolding in Light: A Sisters’ Journey in Photography and Poetry.