Laura Marris

a lodestone tipped into the brook
and the way water sidesteps

the sideways movement of snow
like the movement of sand

it has been winter for a long time—

the snowdrift a shark fin
shaped by the wind

cruel to leave and cruel
to do nothing

since someone will always be left
on the shore of that harsh season

even those who don't want to talk about the dead
need a place to put them

trench                date                  next of            none

of the body then
the body                 a deer     in the tall grass collects dew on his underbelly

a marsh once        the dozer       a Deere

in the short furrow of my days I have tried to keep my flesh
from feeling so precious

a marsh once    a dozer    a deer