LESLIE HARRISON
[Corona penumbra]
We married in the spring we married the shoulder seasons
their discontents their liminal natures we burned our faces
burned our shoulders with the dying sun we divorced before
we had ever been born we lived almost at the same time
we became halves that belonged to other wholes we became
holes in the bodies of those who loved us we were holding out
we were holding on holding our hands with our hands we
were busy keeping our distance we kept to the shadows stood
the night watch we stared out too many windows watched
the foxes the hunting cats we rented rooms and called them
homes we went again and again into the weather we came back
unchanged and the same storm finally came for both of us
and all we will ever have is our bones alight with it that blue
arc of power that lightning strike we married other people we
didn’t know how could we have known we both wear wings
wear feathers in our skin we cannot fly we stand in this current
we burn
202 The Paris-American
We married in the spring we married the shoulder seasons
their discontents their liminal natures we burned our faces
burned our shoulders with the dying sun we divorced before
we had ever been born we lived almost at the same time
we became halves that belonged to other wholes we became
holes in the bodies of those who loved us we were holding out
we were holding on holding our hands with our hands we
were busy keeping our distance we kept to the shadows stood
the night watch we stared out too many windows watched
the foxes the hunting cats we rented rooms and called them
homes we went again and again into the weather we came back
unchanged and the same storm finally came for both of us
and all we will ever have is our bones alight with it that blue
arc of power that lightning strike we married other people we
didn’t know how could we have known we both wear wings
wear feathers in our skin we cannot fly we stand in this current
we burn
202 The Paris-American