My hands are busy, making and unmaking,
under the dome of the stars,
this unbreakable water.
I want to remember this land before I go:
milkweed pods and ragweed spilling seed;
morning taking our breath away;
day retreating, closing curtains.
Lessons on how to build,
become silvery in their cautious steps,
caught in a wordless moment,
salamanders grateful for warm spring rain.
We’re in a difficult state. The river is frozen
in extreme moments of desperation.
Martin Willitts Jr has 24 chapbooks including the Turtle Island Quarterly Editor’s Choice Award winning, The Wire Fence Holding Back the World (Flowstone Press, 2017), plus 19 full-length collections including the Blue Light Award 2019 winner, The Temporary World. His recent book is Unfolding Towards Love (Wipf and Stock, 2020).
Photograph by Scummy.
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