AS LONG AS I SEE
Onto the same valley, I keep looking. Impossible that
the future is instantly changed.
Empty land will continue
to set slight
wind. I woke
at dawn and asked the flat
dark to sing me
its wings. Reason could be the lantern
of owls. I went mapping the body-blood, and escaped
to previous versions and margins
where I reappear in echo. Now I look
at this valley straight across, gold fields
and leaf flutter, fences, lulled cows. Aluminum trailers wriggle
and flex dirt roads. Each shift of peaks and triangulated
pine. The moon curls, and circles
slink about on the pond.
Time widens along west.
Before this, I would have to poke silence—
expecting much to be the only value.
I am looking at the valley because that is what there is
to do and it is already justified. I have buried my father.
Birds scale sand dunes in unison.
ABOUT THE POET
Lauren Camp serves as New Mexico Poet Laureate. She is the author of eight
books of poetry, most recently In Old Sky (Grand Canyon Conservancy, 2024). A
former Astronomer-in-Residence at Grand Canyon National Park, she was a
finalist for the Arab American Book Award, New Mexico-Arizona Book Award,
and Adrienne Rich Award. Her poems have been translated into Mandarin,
Turkish, Spanish, French, and Arabic. LaurenCamp.com
ABOUT SUGAR HOUSE REVIEW
We loved reading the work that we’ve published (clearly), and we want an
opportunity to better hear our contributors. We're featuring audio recordings of
poems from our pages, read by the poet. This an open invitation to all contributors
from any of our issues, we were delighted to print your work, now we’re eager to
hear it.
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