An Algonquin Woman Saves Herself

Mary R. Finnegan is a writer and nurse living in Philadelphia. Her essays and poems have appeared in Lydwine, PILGRIM: A Journal of Catholic Experience, Catholic Digest, The Catholic Poetry Room, The American Journal of Nursing, Ekstasis, and elsewhere. She also writes at https://maryrfinnegan.substack.com. Originally published in Algebra of Owls, September 12, 2018, "An Algonquin Woman Saves Herself" iis published by Short Édition as part of Philly Storied City, a city-wide literary project.

Sometimes, a fishhook and a bit of flesh are all you need to save your baby and yourself. Take the knife, slice off a piece of thigh, and with that meaty part of your own body: Bait the hook. Savor the sweet taste of the fish, the cool, arctic flavor of this lake trout that saves you. Everything may be frozen, encased in the ice that killed your tribesmen. Your son may grow cruel. But for now: You survive. You need only a knife, a hook, madness enough to sliver your own flesh.

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