by Jasmine Reid
in the final hour of memory
my elocution elides its voltage
like a misuttered current my bright
does not slay the hands, tongue, or rattle
the spine into loose particles
little
lights clap on & on darken me sweet
as the night sky dear sky
thank u for holding gently this occasion
of collision syzygy & the wide
wonder of stars burning their light
for this
for this, tonight, i will let stay
my murmuring willow heart
Jasmine Reid is a twice trans poet-child of flowers. A 2018 Poets House Fellow, her work has been published or is forthcoming in Muzzle Magazine, WUSGOOD?, and WATER. Also a finalist for the 2018 Sonia Sanchez-Langston Hughes Poetry Prize, Jasmine was born and raised in Baltimore, MD, and is currently based in Brooklyn, NY. Follow her at www.reidjasmine.com
This poem appears in our 25th Anniversary Issue
