The Whiskey Taster’s Flavor Guide

Spirit

Read 'Spirit' by 'Maggie Nelson' and provide your summary and literary analysis in the comments section below.

Spirit by Maggie Nelson

The spirit of Jane 
lives on in you,
my mother says

trying to describe
who I am. I feel like the girl
in the late-night movie

who gazes up in horror
at the portrait of
her freaky ancestor

as she realizes 
they wear the same
gaudy pendant

round their necks.
For as long as I can
remember, my grandfather

has made the same slip:
he sits in his kitchen,
his gelatinous blue eyes

fixed on me. Well Jane, 
he says, I think I’ll have
another cup of coffee.


Copyright © 2005 by Maggie Nelson. From Jane: A Murder In Poems.

Form: Free verse Comments

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The Whiskey Taster’s Flavor Guide
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