JENNIFER K. SWEENEY
Seen from Above
Steady the freight trains
like daily missives
from other-where—
our stop on the map,
the dislocation of winter’s
bandwidth.
Steady now the icicles
freezing in their gravity,
last leaves winnowing
off the tree
and steady the people
with their clocksongs
and filled-up lives
while a few of us are dropping
away like chaff from a scythe.
Emptiness.
Pour the water.
Keep the fire lit.
Things are not as they seem.
To ring the bell
you must give your whole self
over to the bell-rope.
You must lift both feet
off the ground.
Seen from Above
Steady the freight trains
like daily missives
from other-where—
our stop on the map,
the dislocation of winter’s
bandwidth.
Steady now the icicles
freezing in their gravity,
last leaves winnowing
off the tree
and steady the people
with their clocksongs
and filled-up lives
while a few of us are dropping
away like chaff from a scythe.
Emptiness.
Pour the water.
Keep the fire lit.
Things are not as they seem.
To ring the bell
you must give your whole self
over to the bell-rope.
You must lift both feet
off the ground.
CAVE WALL PRESS, LLC
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nominated for the Poets’ Prize. The recipient of a Pushcart Prize, her poems
have been translated into Turkish and published widely in literary journals
including American Poetry Review and Poetry Daily.
have been translated into Turkish and published widely in literary journals
including American Poetry Review and Poetry Daily.