A Benefice Recedes
Between wolves, a distance
howls with longing. I did
not climb the mountain
(that day) I saw ravages
of plague and famine.
The grain grew mold
in the glistening wet.
I should have carefully picked
my way through the crevasses
slick with blue, stopping to consider
a glacier chanting – its teeth
chattering a roar of prayer.
Ray Ball grew up in a house full of snakes. She is a history professor, Pushcart-nominated poet, and editor at Alaska Women Speak. Her chapbook Tithe of Salt came out with Louisiana Literature Press in 2019, and she has recent publications in Ametheyst Review, Coffin Bell, and Moria. You can find Ray on Twitter: @ProfessorBall
Comments