American Elegy Podcast

Emily Ergenbright

A place for ghosts, memory, myth, and American grief. Poems, essays, stories, and strange happenings. Collected by Emily Ergenbright. emilyergenbright.substack.com

Episodes

  1. Our Girl

    10/10/2025

    Our Girl

    If you’ve been to small town America, you know this place. You may live here. You may have been friends with Summer. You may even miss it, from time to time. How it used to be. Before. But - do you know? Who killed the town? Was it The Stranger who Came in the night All those summers ago, And killed Our girl? Left her in the crick bed picked dry as her daddy’s pockets? It seems like It all started going wrong After that. Wasn’t that when everyone started to forget To whisper behind their folded hands? Playin’ jump rope gossip-grapevine With her ligature marks? You know, last summer she got caught stealing Eyeliner from the Osco’s A deck of cards cracks On a screen porch patio on 1st avenue While ladies lunch. Well I heard she’d been arrested before - Out at a cornfield party, drinking, of course- And where were those parents….you just never know about people anymore. Isn’t that about the time they all started taking deadly aim with crossed wires? Well, of course you heard what they’ve said ? About the autopsy results? They say, they think… A glass of sweet tea sweats At the accusations in the church basement. Was it Walmart that killed the town? That helped us save money and live better - Ran mom and pops shops off The town square where we used to Scoop the loop every Friday night Watch all the farm girls with those strong, long legs That know just how to hold a stallion- But can’t quite keep up with the minimum wage. Or was it the company store? Paid our ancestors with scrips so low It chained us to the lack in the land - Told us our worth was as hollow as the holler When they hollered for that black gold and the only sound that came back to them Was regret and retribution. Was it the prison? They sent all our uncles and brothers up state- In and out of rehab with 120.00 and three condoms in their pockets; They got hooked on painkillers after high school When they hurt their shoulder in a football game in college Or their back in that factory job Or some other thing in that war Like his mind, maybe - But anyway, he just can’t afford to keep Dad’s dreams on his back anymore. So he bottles his rage like whiskey, writes his own Supplemental script; Puts on his nicest belt buckle, Takes his pickup with a bed full of His future’s empty promises and his momma’s charm And goes cattle calling city girls who don’t know any better - They’ve never seen what becomes of those front porch gospel ghosts After the screen door closes and the smell of sulfur Soaks into a lace tablecloth. They don’t know what it took to be her. She won May Day Queen, that year she died. Got pulled down Main Street at 5mph On a float she made herself, Behind her grandad’s Lincoln continental Sun-in hair done up like Farrah Fawcett, Smile warm as summer; Hands folded in her lap, Ankles crossed, back straight and perfect wave. Her mother’s lipstick in the glovebox And grandma’s vintage perfume. She was the most beautiful thing this town her parents Ever did. And don’t you think she deserves a little justice For that? Was it the FBI? Who let a serial killer move from town to town picking it clean of its town squares and summer dreams, Coming and going like an F5 And leaving an empty shell, Right next to the prison For us to stare at in the distance- But then again - They work for that “ol man” Uncle Sam Who sold us to them? Like he was runnin’ girls or somethin’. You believe that? You believe they’d Turn us out on us Like that? We live in a small town - Nobody is ever really a Stranger here With an unsolved murder hanging over it’s head - Won’t someone help us Figure out who killed Our Girl? She was so important to us. We’re almost sure her name was Summer. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emilyergenbright.substack.com

    6 min
  2. Wake

    08/21/2025

    Wake

    When you were young, your mother said she could see out of the back of her head. But even she had to sleep, sometimes. Offering you a quiet respite From her watchful gaze. She taught you everything you know, like: Each half of an orcas brain alternates being awake, So it never loses consciousness And never stops swimming. A few years ago, you saw the story of a mother orca who’d lost her calf and spent the next 17 days Filling the ocean with her cries. Swimming with its body, dwarfed by its mothers grief- She kept pushing him above the water, Trying to will him to move, to Dance on the waves like she dreamed. Your mother called and asked If you’ve been eating well, When the last time was you got your oil changed. If you’re still seeing that guy who made you cry at 2 in the afternoon In the break room. If you wouldn’t mind Sharing your location with her like you used to, Only for a little while - It’s the only way she can keep an eye on you anymore. This year, the orca lost another calf, and began her mourning once again. Does she wish she could know the comforting blackness of sleep- wish that she could close her eyes and not see a broken promise? Your mother taught you, Female orcas can live for 90 years. Imagine carrying that For all that time- Without even a dream to save you From the grief of empty spaces, Swimming beside you In the futures wake. Storm season has made its way to American Elegy ! Make sure to spread the news This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit emilyergenbright.substack.com

    3 min

About

A place for ghosts, memory, myth, and American grief. Poems, essays, stories, and strange happenings. Collected by Emily Ergenbright. emilyergenbright.substack.com