Wedding Photos

In the pictures from that day, she sits
upright. Carries lightly 

the silk gown on her figure. Eyes shadowed, 
her hair hangs straight, though not 

without movement. I remember a few words  
traded on top of that mountain. She said 

Congratulations as they all did, wished me well. 
Then, we might have said we should go

dancing, get together, nodding our heads,
as people nod who expect to see

each other again. Probably, we decided
we would go when I returned

from the honeymoon. We would go
when I returned from the honeymoon

I wouldn’t take. When I returned
from the honeymoon I didn’t take, we would

go. When I returned, I—
her. Dance?

She smiles easily, looks you in the eye,
someone said, after.

Always took life on her own, dreamt 
of a homestead, planted trees, had bees—

she’s making her own soil now. 

ANNA BROADWELL-GULDE

Anna Broadwell-Gulde is a writer and teacher living in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. As a longtime movement enthusiast—yoga, dance, climbing—Anna finds inspiration for writing in somatic practices. She is currently working on her first chapbook, which explores the philosophical and spiritual nature of endings through lived, embodied experience.