this morning is as any other
the pinkish-blue sky is there
the birds call and then
the pinkish-blue sky is there
the birds call and then
the soundless black ribbons
of more geese in flight
heartbeat next to heartbeat
pulses full and round
turn-taking into place
and falling back to sing
the glory of the inner compass
the awe that north is in us—
here as I am, next to you
on this painted porch
with its railings
where we steady our hands
quiet in this cold
you and I flock within
and I somehow trust
that I won’t go missing
when you slip back to air again
by Janelle Adsit
Janelle Adsit is author of the poetry collection Unremitting Entrance (Spuyten Duyvil, 2015) and the chapbook Press Yourself Against a Mirror (Porkbelly Press, 2015). Her other publications include five books published by Bloomsbury and Routledge. She lives in northern California where she teaches at Cal Poly Humboldt.
back to Issue 17