Despy Boutris
Despy Boutris's writing has been published or is forthcoming in Copper Nickel, American Poetry Review, The Gettysburg Review, Colorado Review, The Journal, Prairie Schooner, and elsewhere. Currently, she teaches at the University of Houston and serves as Poetry Editor for Gulf Coast, Guest Editor for Palette Poetry and Frontier, and Editor-in-Chief of The West Review.
MOONLESS PASTORAL
Tonight, an empty sky. Alone
on the porch, I listen to moths
launch themselves into the porch light.
Some nights, I walk the roads
alone, let rainfall christen me.
I suck down honeysuckle
and hope the sweetness takes root.
Ivy along the fences, sky that purples
at dawn, angel white of alyssum—
the scent of someone I love,
the inked flowers blooming
from her shoulder, the sweat
of her neck. I sleep best in a bed
of daisies, in clover that leaves
my dresses stained green.
Nature trying its best to hold me,
the scent of mildew,
the sky above empty, expanding.
©2021 West Trade Review
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