Three Poems
by D.W. Baker
Motto
those that
embrace the
bend natural
supple state
-ment of
knowing the
with human
sensing spirit
rhythm is
un- ecstatic
met wonder
-ered that
intricate we
who should
assume not
to settle
doubt for
anything less
Lovers’ Script
“the moths perform their dance / around the source – oblique, / transverse, pavement parabolas. / A great and secret script, / cursive discourse, / kinetic mystery.”
–Isobel Dixon, “Imago, Imago”
unthinking the
routinized moths
will perform
interlock their
lifelong dance
orbiting around
lifeshort the
burning source
desire oblique
one-way transverse
ruptured pavement
perspective parabolas
becoming a
known great
recursively and
blooming secret
lovers’ script
embodied cursive
boundary discourse
release kinetic
unitary mystery
If the next rise doesn't get us,
muddy waters
rising high
flood insurance
right behind
options wither
failing states
toxic weather
changing place
if we could
break the glass
what we've done
neighborhoods
fractured maps
setting sun
D.W. Baker is a poet, teacher, and New College of Florida graduate living in St. Petersburg, where he writes about place, bodies, belonging, and the end of the world. His work appears in Identity Theory, Sundog Lit, RESURRECTION Mag, and Voidspace Zine, among others, and has been nominated for Best of the Net. He reads for several mastheads including Variant Lit and Libre. See more of his work at www.dwbakerpoetry.com