altitude

by RC deWinter


caught in the snows
swirling down the pike
from amherst

i need a mountain
but there is none nearby
only rolling hills
hamlets
farmland
pocked with gentrified mills

and even greylock
tucked high in the west
is not rarefied enough

though i long to lie
on your lovely summer lawns
and bury myself
in the fragrance
of your gentility
i'm a tiger
i'm a loner

emily dickinson
in fur
with fangs and claws
made for the
prehistoric silence
of high rugged peaks


* * * * *

RC deWinter’s poetry is widely anthologized, notably in New York City Haiku (Universe/NY Times,  2/2017), New Contexts 2 (Coverstory Books, 9/2021), Now We Heal: An Anthology of Hope (Wellworth Publishing, 12/2020), in print in 2River, Event Magazine, Gargoyle Magazine, Genre Urban Arts, Meat For Tea: The Valley Review, the minnesota review, Night Picnic Journal, Plainsongs, Prairie Schooner, San Antonio Review, The Ogham Stone, Southword, Twelve Mile Review, Yellow Arrow Journal, The York Literary Review among others and appears in numerous online literary journals.  She’s also a one of winners of the 2021 Connecticut Shakespeare Festival Sonnet Contest, anthology publication forthcoming.