in the country of belief

 

In the country of

belief   old women read cards

draw them from pouches

embroidered with bronze and gold

offer ways to light the dark

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I lost two cities, lovely ones

tight streets unfolding to the eye.

Boys rise up in old men, wings begin to sprout

and the ports have names for the sea.

We look for communion

(there are easier ways of making sense)

any small thing can save you:

petals on a wet black bough,

the cold flash of the blue, unappeasable sky.

 

cento portion: Elizabeth bishop, Robert hayden, Pete Fairchild, Auden, Levertov, billy collins, mark doty, ezra pound, Stanley kunitz