To the Angelbeast by Eduardo C. Corral
“You said it was nothing / but a trick of the light. Gold / curves. Gold scarves. // Am I not your animal?” — Eduardo C. Corral
To Revolt Is To Insist On Joy by Nur Turkmani
“The poems weren’t lying. It’s true. / It’s true it’s true it’s true” — Nur Turkmani
The Undertaking by Louise Glück
“Extend yourself— / it is the Nile, the sun is shining, / everywhere you turn is luck.”
I Was Told the Sunlight Was a Cure by Hanif Abdurraqib
"on the days I want to be alive I tell myself I deserve a marching band / or at least a string section to announce my arrival
Leaf by Seán Hewitt
"For woods are forms of grief / grown from the earth. For they creak / with the weight of it."
To Be Held by Linda Hogan
"the way a tree always shelters the unborn life / waiting for the healing / after the storm / which has been our life."
The Round by Stanley Kunitz
"this morning I saw light kiss / the silk of the roses / A curious gladness shook me"
Nights in the Neighborhood by Linda Gregg
"I notice the ones in pain / shine more than the others." — Linda Gregg
God Says Yes To Me by Kaylin Haught
"and she said honey / she calls me that sometimes / she said you can do just exactly / what you want to"
Love Itself by Leonard Cohen
"The light came through the window now / straight from the sun above," — Leonard Cohen