Pavlov cracks the curtain, sees Temple trotting
up the front walk. "Ah, hell. Already?" He’s quiet
while the dogs scramble and drool at the doorbell.
"Mr. Pavlov, aren’t you home?" She shouts over
the dogs, rings and rings until he swings the door wide.
"I beg you, Shirley. Next time, knock."
Temple drops her small red caddy of shampoo and brushes,
leans her face in to a terrier. "Morning, Plum. Ready
for bathtime?" Plum, in a puddle, licks a ringlet.
©
's poems and essays have previously appeared in such journals as Arts and Letters, Borderlands, and Diagram, and several of her poems were recently included in The Southern Poetry Anthology, Volume II. She has received honors in several writing contests, including first place in Sunstone's 2011 Eugene England Memorial Personal Essay Contest, the 2008 Joan Johnson Award in poetry, and the 2004–2005 Parley A. and Ruth J. Christensen Award. She completed a PhD in English and Creative Writing at the University of Southern Mississippi, then moved to the Boston area, where she works as a development editor at Bedford/St Martin's Press.
We’ve published two more poems by Earley: “Let Death Come Upon Us Planting Our Cabbages” and “Pan of Ice.”
