Favorite lines from Leigh Chadwick's DAUGHTERS OF THE STATE

Leigh Chadwick's book Daughters of the State is a linked collection of pieces I thought worked really well. It's strong and poetic and well-made. 

Here are my favorite lines/pieces.

1. It's one paragraph with a single, repeating sentence that put me in mind of Michael Ondaatje's famous, reoccurring line, "Passing wet chicory that lies in the field like the sky," from Coming Through Slaughter.

Chadwick's sentence repeats 14 times to complete the piece. It is: "The girls kiss the sky and the sky laughs." It's a bold  decision and shows a conviction of vision I also appreciate every time I see it in good literature.

2. "Sad girls touching light with their tongues pressed against the sun."

3. "The girls dream their bellies full."

4. "They dream the pantry is so tall it goes starling."

5. "When the girls wake up, they open their mouths and birds fly out. They don't know how long the birds were there."

6. "The seconds between the lightning and thunder shorten. The girls hold their breath. They wait for their faces to explode..."

7. The following passage I love for its specificity. And accuracy: "She'll tell you about the time she ran out of meth, so she peed on eight slices of Wonder Bread, waited for the bread to dry, and then ate the slices while chugging a 2-liter of Pepsi, all to keep herself high. She'll tell you about how she ate her own scabs to keep the fix."

Daughters of the State is a worthy read. Buy a copy here and enjoy.