by Malene Lotz

 

there’s always
something
moving
under the skin

encasement is required
to feel oneself
against

the dark
will do

soft cheek
against a nightcurtain of sorrow

once a poet couldn’t
sleep
at night
on the wooden floor
of my apartment

she leaned into the nocturnal

her imagination
held
by thin skin

she wrote about butterflies
and wings
that cover
the bellies of birds

flying is never enough

the boats

with their black-brown
steep-iron hulls

they help

rubbing against the sea
at night
in dreams
like a Turner painting

fruits on board
ripening

with a lullaby
from dusk
into dawn

 

 

 

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Malene Lotz has been a modern ballet dancer living and teaching intuitive movement in New York. She is Danish, currently living in Denmark north of Copenhagen, and is transforming into a poet.