by Charles J. March III
Drops
Rain. Rain in light sheets and the road holds a few flattened
mice. I want no one
to say more. I am tired
of finding my way. Trees stand up and lurk in shadow and statue.
On this peninsula, I finally learn
how to stake and contingent the streets—
water east and water north, and north until the sky
takes away what seemed known, and without
thought I am hit by how she nerved
in her river-ragged spot
at the elbow of city cranky with gulls.
I want to start over, understanding what I need is also so little.
Lauren Camp is the author of five books, most recently Took House (Tupelo Press), which Publishers Weekly calls a “stirring, original collection.” Her poems have appeared in Witness, Ecotone, Poet Lore and Beloit Poetry Journal. Honors include the Dorset Prize and finalist citations for the Arab American Book Award, the Housatonic Book Award and the New Mexico-Arizona Book Award. Her poems have been translated into Mandarin, Turkish, Spanish, and Arabic. www.laurencamp.com.
Charles J. March III is a person currently living in California. His works are in or are forthcoming from Evergreen Review, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, 3:AM Magazine, BlazeVOX, Expat Press, Points in Case, Sensitive Skin, Taco Bell Quarterly, Queen Mob’s Teahouse, Maudlin House, Misery Tourism, Litro, Otoliths, etc. More can be found at LinkedIn & SoundCloud.