{Photo by Joonhwy Kwon for Scopio}
reckoning
you hold out my scarf like a sail
waifish body held on the wind
yelling “mom, look!”
already, I am looking,
already hearing future’s insistence
sun setting on your girlhood
as on waves crashing beyond us,
riotous promise, threat
in this, the quieting hour,
cushions of evening inviting
a broader reckoning
fête of twilight
a single cricket heralding
the looming choir
{Originally published in inScribe Journal, August 2025.
Tricia Gates Brown has worked as a professional editor and co-writer since the mid-2000s. Though the bulk of her current work is for the National Park Service and Native tribes, her expertise is broad. She has experience in academic and creative writing and strives to honor an author’s tone while improving a written piece. She holds a PhD from University of St. Andrews and edits everything from academic works to poetry, while her own essays, creative nonfiction, and poetry have appeared widely in journals. A 2022 Independent Publishers Award (IPPY) Bronze Medal was awarded to her novel Wren.
