Gravity
By Wendy Mitman Clarke
At night in the meadow
we lay the blanket down and fall back
to watch the stars in their endless migration
find the unyielding geometry of distance.
The tall grass of autumn
does not tease our faces,
nor does the dew wet our skin.
Out here, we remain untouched, you and I,
wheeling in our own orbits
of intractable light years
and the lambent echoes of stars long dead
that burned and burned, like we did.
There should be comfort in the gravity
that pins me to this blanket
like a butterfly, wings ashen under
the airless glass of this hurtling universe;
there should be comfort in knowing
I don’t have to hold on.
Wendy Mitman Clarke, of Centreville, Maryland, has published nonfiction in River Teeth, Smithsonian, Preservation, and National Parks. She’s the former executive editor of Chesapeake Bay Magazine, and her book of essays Window on the Chesapeake: The Bay, Its People and Places was published in 2002 (Howell Press and The Mariners’ Museum). The Delmarva Review published her first poems in its current edition (Vol. 8).
The Delmarva Review’s eighth annual issue contains original prose and poetry of 35 authors from the region and beyond. The literary journal is published by the Eastern Shore Writers Association with additional support from the Talbot County Arts Council and private contributions. For information about availability and submissions, see the website: www.delmarvareview.com.
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.