from “Back on Earth”

Thirteen


look out
be well
do that
at least
for whatever
has hap-
pened
Thy no longer
shall glimpse
things great-
er
you
say you
aren’t safe
well, no
you’re not
for-
get your
aims,
your other
loves
no one
can know
what thought
was for
what adva-
ntage
it gave
when time
was young
& speech
a distant
dream
back on earth

Copyright © 2017 by Brent Cunningham. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on November 7, 2017, by the Academy of American Poets.