Drought
I wandered, innocently.
An illusory, eloquent invitation beckoned me.
I wandered innocently.
A veiled breeze intent on seduction
brushed the ripened skin of my back bare.
A taunting whisper hushed me into place
using tender, copper reeds as her accomplice,
braided blinding by sun’s smugly-nimble fingers
that winked at my ignorance, intimating collusion.
Scorched and alone,
I inked the earth.
She absorbed me like a parched canvas.
Desert rains
yielded
naught.
I didn’t know until I came
that I wanted to come,
and succumb to innocence feigned.
*A slightly different version
entitled “The Canvas” appeared in New Note Poetry.
Revelation
Beside my cabin, a reflection shimmers on humid
luminescence
that bewitches me curiously within,
captivating me against my will.
The brazen luster measures without apology
my depths and my shallows without my consent,
revealing secrets I’ve kept surreptitiously hidden
from sunlight
that continues to remain loyal
whether I deserve it or not.
Entranced in a mesmeric gaze, we eye one another
uneasily
until a dragonfly skims the surface
and breaks the enchantment.
I am revealed in ripples that disseminate
an imperfect nature.
*First appeared in Nothing Divine Dies: A Poetry Anthology About
Nature (Vita
Brevis Press).
A Vermont writer and artist, Kelly Sargent is the author of Seeing Voices: Poetry in Motion (2022) and Lilacs and Teacups (2022). Her other works, including cover and award-nominated art and poetry, have appeared or are forthcoming in more than sixty literary publications, including Rattle, Chestnut Review, Typehouse Literary Magazine, and Eunoia Review. A recognized haiku poem received a placard in Washington, D.C. this year. She currently serves as the creative nonfiction editor of The Bookends Review and a reviewer for an organization supporting the artistic expression of sexual violence survivors. Visit http://www.kellysargent.com to learn more about her.
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