MRB Chelko
Love Poem
I dreamt an office so bright
I could not see a thing
the light burned my eyes
and work became impossible
as I swirled in my own inability
to escape the limits
of a body on this earth
with its sun too close
its windows too thin
its creatures vulnerable
to the day and its powers
even the fern
I potted ten months ago
yellows leaf by leaf
no matter where I set the pot
a dark and crumbling silence
shadows the brim of its canopy
I am such a plant
from the sidewalk at night
the four windows
of our apartment smolder
like coals overturned
in a stubborn pit fire
by the last lonesome friend
crouched outside with a stick
I married that man
who stays for what’s left
who shoulders the moon
as he pokes for a spark
MRB Chelko is the author of Manhattations, which was selected by Mary Ruefle for the Poetry Society of America's New York Chapbook Fellowship. Chelko’s poems appear widely in journals, including Black Warrior Review, Cincinnati Review, Crazyhorse, Gulf Coast, and Poetry International. She co-hosts the performance salon, BUFFET, and lives with her family in New York City. mrbchelko.com
Return to July 2020 Edition
I dreamt an office so bright
I could not see a thing
the light burned my eyes
and work became impossible
as I swirled in my own inability
to escape the limits
of a body on this earth
with its sun too close
its windows too thin
its creatures vulnerable
to the day and its powers
even the fern
I potted ten months ago
yellows leaf by leaf
no matter where I set the pot
a dark and crumbling silence
shadows the brim of its canopy
I am such a plant
from the sidewalk at night
the four windows
of our apartment smolder
like coals overturned
in a stubborn pit fire
by the last lonesome friend
crouched outside with a stick
I married that man
who stays for what’s left
who shoulders the moon
as he pokes for a spark
MRB Chelko is the author of Manhattations, which was selected by Mary Ruefle for the Poetry Society of America's New York Chapbook Fellowship. Chelko’s poems appear widely in journals, including Black Warrior Review, Cincinnati Review, Crazyhorse, Gulf Coast, and Poetry International. She co-hosts the performance salon, BUFFET, and lives with her family in New York City. mrbchelko.com
Return to July 2020 Edition