box of jars

Alison Palmer

in memory of RVN


All That Would Be Buried
I rewrite the quarter moon
						to speak of love—if the sky
		has its light, the saints you spoke of
become visible. I promise
				I'll never sleep now.

I can't tell the air around you any more
		than I can explain the illusion
						of permanence—once
here, now gone.

There are good reasons to stay, just
				as there are good reasons to let go; I don't
		question death the way I should. 

Dear Darkness, I'm writing to you because I've lost
						something I can't live without.



							*Title from "Dear Shadows" by Lucie Brock-Broido