"Illude" by Anna Martin
"Solace" by Lauren Camp
I am walking in and out of sunlight with a woman
with long hands. Walking through cotton fluff
that cannot be sewn up. Out here, there is
such hope. There is also death,
but it is not a deviation. This great nub of space
and the thistle-briars. Lizards probe
and slide along the dust. The air without
explanation, without wrong measure.
I am ashamed that this is all I want.
A red-tailed hawk is in the upper branches.
Dragonflies form wing-prayers
atop the swamp. We kneel and peel our shoes off,
drop our feet to seaweed sludge
to be closer to their narrow splendor.
Bullfrogs honk rough phrases, asking anyone.
On the drive back, I linger down the road,
pass a farm that repeats
its grapevines, see the elbows of dahlia blossoms
and lettuce frills. This world is untidy
with its muddy banks, with its eyes.
This land, like me, needs rest from burden.
with long hands. Walking through cotton fluff
that cannot be sewn up. Out here, there is
such hope. There is also death,
but it is not a deviation. This great nub of space
and the thistle-briars. Lizards probe
and slide along the dust. The air without
explanation, without wrong measure.
I am ashamed that this is all I want.
A red-tailed hawk is in the upper branches.
Dragonflies form wing-prayers
atop the swamp. We kneel and peel our shoes off,
drop our feet to seaweed sludge
to be closer to their narrow splendor.
Bullfrogs honk rough phrases, asking anyone.
On the drive back, I linger down the road,
pass a farm that repeats
its grapevines, see the elbows of dahlia blossoms
and lettuce frills. This world is untidy
with its muddy banks, with its eyes.
This land, like me, needs rest from burden.
Lauren Camp is the author of three books. Her most recent collection, One Hundred Hungers, won the Dorset Prize and was a finalist for the Arab American Book Award, the Sheila Margaret Motton Book Prize, and the Housatonic Book Award. Her poems have appeared in Slice, Ecotone, Boston Review, Third Coast, Diode, Nashville Review, Beloit Poetry Journal and the Poem-a-Day series from The Academy of American Poets. www.laurencamp.com
Anna Martin is a digital/traditional artist, writer and photographer based out of Saint Augustine, Florida. She is an avid explorer and much of her artwork is inspired by her travels and life experiences, and she strives to capture emotions and inspire others with her work. Her work has been previously exhibited in various galleries and museums, such as the Rosenberg Gallery and the Baltimore Museum of Art, and has also been published in various art magazines such as Grub Street and Plenilune Magazine. Anna is a freelance artist, and is always looking for new work and collaborative projects. Anna also frequently works under the pseudonym Vacantia, and more of her art can be found at her online gallery: http://www.vacantia.org.
