Poem after e.e. cummings

by Lori Desrosiers

I will wade out

                        into the water that burned our thighs

I will take your memory in my mouth

                        leap to the time when

                        Alive again

                        you ran into the ocean, singing

a dash ahead of death

                        the curves of your young body

diving in, lithe, strong and sure

showing off for the beach girls

                        will I figure out the mystery

of losing you

will we rise

in a thousand years or

drink the dirt

                        lend the shine of our teeth

to the old, wavering moon

* * * * *

"Poem after e.e. cummings" is part of a chapbook collection coming out from Glass Lyre Press later in 2019.

Lori Desrosiers’ poetry books are The Philosopher’s Daughter (Salmon Poetry, 2013), a chapbook, Inner Sky (Glass Lyre Press, 2015) and Sometimes I Hear the Clock Speak (Salmon Poetry, 2016). A third full-length book is due out in 2019. She edits Naugatuck River Review, a journal of narrative poetry, and WORDPEACE, an online journal dedicated to social justice.