First Winter After She Left by Yash Seyedbagheri

First winter after Mother leaves, sister Nancy and I shovel unruly snow, hands weighed down by patches. Flakes fly, whirling seductresses. We clear faster. Flakes cover clearness. Nature gives. Takes. Gives people wanderlust, makes world cold. We try to make everything perfect. Keep clearing. We trip. Keep trying. Keep tripping.

Mir-Yashar’s work has been published or is forthcoming in Mad Swirl, CafeLit, and Ariel Chart, among others. He lives in Garden Valley, Idaho.