Preferences

Maureen N. McLane

we would have liked the moon

unshrouded, declaring itself

in August, but we’ll take

the vagrant yellow barely visible

amidst thick clouds

we would have liked the rain

sufficient to revive the ferns,

the farmers’ fields, the well, the hay

otherwise lost, animals parched

even the hurricane failed

to provide

one leans into seasons

as if they were imperishable

as if the earth revolved the same

as ever, dumb core shrouded

by cooler layers and a sky

itself divided into sheltering parts

I am not drunk

as I write this

by which I mean type this

I am at most slightly buzzed

by a Jamaican rum

a Turner night sky

become an Ofili blueblack

a night sky that doesn’t yet reign

in video games or porn

everyone wants clean sheets

amidst the stones and holes

Illustration by Joey Gonnella

Maureen N. McLane is the author of seven books of poems and of My Poets, an experiment in memoir/criticism. Her latest book of poetry, What You Want, will be published in May.
Originally published:
March 27, 2023

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