The Desire
to be both
ductile and resistive
to glow incandescent
and light a dark way
to honor
is owing to memories
of our heavenly home:
they elude recollection
yet they hold
the planet together
they keep the city
from exsanguination
the family from selling
its young or killing
the inconvenient old
as spring’s blaze
of black cherry in bloom
in a cloud of bees
even unremembered
diminishes winter.
J. S. Absher is a poet and independent scholar. His first full-length book of poetry, Mouth Work (St. Andrews University Press) won the 2015 Lena Shull Competition of the NC Poetry Society. His second full-length collection, Skating Rough Ground was published by Kelsay Press in 2022. Chapbooks are Night Weather (Cynosura, 2010) and The Burial of Anyce Shepherd (Main Street Rag, 2006). He lives in Raleigh, with his wife, Patti. Website: www.jsabsherpoetry.com
Amethyst Review 