by John Dorroh
Psalm of the North
The Lord is my Northern Fulmar,
I shall not want.
He causes me to fly to rest
in green tundra; he leads
me beside bestilled volcanoes.
He restores my soul—naturally—
he leads me beside an island stream gushing
for his wingèd name’s sake.
Ye, though I zodiac in troughs
of violent human history,
I will feel no evil in pillboxes and bomb scars.
You, your hollow bones,
they do comfort me.
You place a tableau of wildflowers
before me in the presence of seven possible winds.
You anoint my pate with guano,
my eyeglasses with fine mist—
my cup of Time overflows.
May only monkshood and reindeer lichen
pursue my boggy boot steps
all the dreams of my life,
and may I dwell in the abundant seas
of the abundant fulmar forever.
Karla Linn Merrifield has 14 books to her credit. Following her 2018 Psyche’s Scroll (Poetry Box Select) is the 2019 full-length book Athabaskan Fractal: Poems of the Far North from Cirque Press. In early 2021, her Half a World of Kisses will be published by Truth Serum Press (Australia) under its new Lindauer Poets imprint. She is currently at work on a poetry collection, My Body the Guitar, inspired by famous guitarists and their guitars; the book is slated to be published in December 2021 by Before Your Quiet Eyes Publications Holograph Series (Rochester, NY).
Although born a writer, John Dorroh also enjoys art: the first photo-essay he created called “Beauty Confined” included pictures from the zoo in Columbus, MS. And of course, several poems followed to add another layer of depth to the topic. It was an unplanned magic. A lifelong traveler, Dorroh’s poetry has appeared in Selcouth Station, Os Pressan, Feral, Blue Moon Literary & Art Review, River Heron Review, El Portal, and many more.