David Villaverde
Image by Joushua Woroniecki from Pexels
David Joez Villaverde received his MFA at the University of Michigan where he was a Helen Zell Fellow . He has received honors from CantoMundo, The American Academy of Poets, Black Warrior Review, and Best New Poets among others. Recently his work has appeared in The Rumpus, Diode, Thrush, and Frontier Poetry. He lives in Detroit and can be found at schadenfreudeanslip.com @AcademicJuggalo on Twitter and @justverde on Instagram.
Against Cynicism
Today I deadheaded
the yarrow. Sandy loam
dulled the blade. I smiled
at the blight deepening
in the wood, the blueberry
laden with rust. My fingers
dredged the heft of tomato
through buttermilk & flour.
The dogs ran wild
& were no worse for it.
I heard of a school
of fish that part
the air & still
my chin sunk
with the plummet
of the drunk sun,
trusting sorrow
to deliver joy.
I want to believe
in impossible things.
I am harrowing the sun
across this quivering arc
of earth. My heart is full.
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