WAYFARE
I spent most of a day
putting the crib that came
in 48 parts together, tightening
every screw just enough,
but not too much, the memory
of its assembly living somewhere
in me while you dreamt inside it
for one thousand nights,
it later taking only ten minutes
to disassemble and one minute
more to box it up, to put it out
onto the curb where the city
came to take it away.
—from Rattle #84, Summer 2024
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John Arthur: “I’ve always been perplexed by poetry. I read and write it to make some sense of the confusion. My favorite poems surprise me and help me understand what I feel with more clarity. I don’t fully understand why I am drawn to poetry, but I am glad that I am, always have been, and likely always will be.”
