Swimming under tables, spoons in hand.
The shining white plates vanish, trailing
a flash of fin, silver witness.
Each letter breaks off from its word
to settle in the sand. Language is less
a frontier, closer to gristle.
A black sea lies beneath the gabble and groan.
There are those standing on the shore
who will gladly shed their wings.
Mercedes Lawry has been publishing poetry for over thirty years in such journals as Poetry, Puerto del Sol, New Madrid, Seattle Review, Nimrod, and Saint Ann’s Review. She has published two chapbooks: There are Crows in My Blood and Happy Darkness. She has received honors from the Seattle Arts Commission, Jack Straw Foundation, Artist Trust and Richard Hugo House and held a residency at Hedgebrook. She has also published short fiction as well as stories and poems for children.
Steel Toe Review 