dragonfly
they gave me cutglass eyes
the fates
each facet exquisitely fitted to the next
the consequence of this a curse
i see into men’s souls
(an outdated worldview trope
rest easy women are included)
every single stain
each twin grain of opposites
truth and falsity
love and hatred
generosity parsimony
purity lust
and so on through the catalogue
of man’s birthright – imperfectability
the minutest fleck of human attribution
magnified
in the cunning construction of my vision
the burden of this legacy
(never wanted never asked for)
is further weighted in remove
even knowing every strength and weakness
there is no coalescence
no harmony of the whole
the virtues and the vices are strung out
i look and see clothing i cannot sort hung on a line
i listen and hear notes from which i parse no melody
and am constantly surprised
by both kindness and betrayal
i’m exhausted
with the wearing of these jewelled orbs
intimate with all upon whom i focus
(willingly or not –
pushiness being one more human foible)
they may as well be the milkily opaque
eyes of one born blind
i am as baffled by the purport of their revelations
as a newborn freshly pulled from the womb
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RC deWinter’s poetry is widely anthologized, notably in New York City Haiku (NY Times, 2/2017 Connecticut Shakespeare Festival Anthology (River Bend Bookshop Press, 12/2021), in print: 2River, Event Magazine), Now We Heal: An Anthology of Hope, (Wellworth Publishing, 12/2020) easing the edges: a collection of everyday miracles (Patrick Heath Public Library of Boerne , 11/2021,) The, Gargoyle Magazine, Meat For Tea: The Valley Review, the minnesota review, Night Picnic Journal, Plainsongs, Prairie Schooner, Ogham Stone, San Antonio Review, Southword, Twelve Mile Review, Variant Literature, Yellow Arrow Journal, The York Literary Review among others and appears in numerous online literary journals.
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Stone Poetry Quarterly 