Glass rivers, steel rain; petal and twig severed
from their stems; dry clouds, damp winds, the city
against the town, the field losing its herd
of cattle. Wolves on wolves. Flocks of pretty
sheep no longer look like flocks. The haughty
mock the meek, the meek accept the pittance
of their feet, the body in need. Their glance,
from crag to hill, now falls on a lit hovel.
So small the flame that sets on fire the land—
and yet the dying has begun to unravel.
Sofia Starnes served as Virginia Poet Laureate from 2012 to 2014 and is the author of six poetry collections, most recently The Consequence of Moonlight (Paraclete Press, 2018). She has received a Poetry Fellowship from the Virginia Commission for the Arts, among other commendations, including five Pushcart Prize nominations. From 2007 to 2019, she served as Poetry Editor and Poetry Book Review Editor for The Anglican Theological Review. Her most recent publication is a book translation, Unveiling Memories, Spain and the Hispanic Contribution to U.S. Independence (Iberdrola, 2019).
