air by air we soften
rocks we across wetly
in crook and shale
choose chill
thread by thread
unself into
ancient felt
compass north
green river flowing
slowly to grow:
wander
then remain
in every step
we last we lush
sex or no sex
make of history
a velvet beneathdom
Published in Cider Press Review, Volume 26, Issue 4.
See all items about Jennifer K. Sweeney
Jennifer K. Sweeney is the author of four poetry collections: Foxlogic, Fireweed (Backwaters Press/Univ. of Nebraska), Little Spells, How to Live on Bread and Music, which received the James Laughlin Award, the Perugia Press Prize and a nomination for the Poets’ Prize, and Salt Memory. The collaborative chapbook, Dear Question, with L.I. Henley, will be published in 2024 from Glass Lyre Press. The recipient of a Pushcart Prize, her poems have appeared widely in journals, most recently or forthcoming in Birdcoat Quarterly, Guesthouse, On the Seawall, Orion, Poetry Northwest, Sixth Finch, Terrain, Waxwing.