The Infinite Comings of Age
by Julie Benesh
At the open graveside of your then-husband’s
grandfather, yourself long out of grandparents
by then, your mother buried five years, you lift your hand,
dreamily releasing the fragrance: rosemary and clove
serum from your hair, and the first time,
that thing you thought could never happen to you, you
were always so cautious and fearful, you are stung in the finger
by a bee, and before you can say anaphylaxis
you remember that burly bookstore jock you were made to fire
a decade before, when things were different, but not all that different,
and how bee sting reactions get worse every time, sensitization,
though you’d think they should get less bad, desensitization,
and you are not that different, either, just different
enough to know how to deploy employees to more appropriate opportunities,
as if it were a favor, and honeybees die after just one sting,
but your ex-husband will live on, more or less, as will you.
About the Author
Julie Benesh has published stories, poems, and essays in Tin House, Crab Orchard Review, Florida Review, Hobart, JMWW, Cleaver, Maudlin House, and many other places, and her poetry chapbook ABOUT TIME is forthcoming from Cathexis Northwest Press. She is a graduate of the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College and recipient of an Illinois Arts Council Grant. Read more at juliebenesh.com.