Gregory Mahrer
Prefecture of Loose Birds
Birds remember what the tongue cannot,
enter our quiet rooms as queries—
who will prepare the house spanning the stream
they ask,
now that the pair in repose
have flown to their separate years.
Stranded chair, assembly of spoons:
they resemble speech, only sleepier.
In the secret room, dresses in waiting
trouble the bridal bed.
Now that she has been dispersed,
release the night birds.
Don’t tell me how many Tuesdays
we’ve shuttered,
only which aperture of sky
wants us more.
Why asked and unasked
must enter through the same door.
Gregory Mahrer’s work has been published or is forthcoming in The New England Review, The Indiana Review, Green Mountains Review, Volt, Colorado Review and elsewhere. In 2014 his poem, Refrain, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize and received a special mention. His last collection, A Provisional Map of the Lost Continent won the POL prize from Fordham University Press was published in the Spring of 2016. It was also a finalist for the 2016 Northern California Book Award. He lives and works in rural Northern California and Baja California Sur, Mexico.
Return to September 2020 Edition
Birds remember what the tongue cannot,
enter our quiet rooms as queries—
who will prepare the house spanning the stream
they ask,
now that the pair in repose
have flown to their separate years.
Stranded chair, assembly of spoons:
they resemble speech, only sleepier.
In the secret room, dresses in waiting
trouble the bridal bed.
Now that she has been dispersed,
release the night birds.
Don’t tell me how many Tuesdays
we’ve shuttered,
only which aperture of sky
wants us more.
Why asked and unasked
must enter through the same door.
Gregory Mahrer’s work has been published or is forthcoming in The New England Review, The Indiana Review, Green Mountains Review, Volt, Colorado Review and elsewhere. In 2014 his poem, Refrain, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize and received a special mention. His last collection, A Provisional Map of the Lost Continent won the POL prize from Fordham University Press was published in the Spring of 2016. It was also a finalist for the 2016 Northern California Book Award. He lives and works in rural Northern California and Baja California Sur, Mexico.
Return to September 2020 Edition