ash good

i can’t unknow any knowing of a death grip

–for donna

you are no longer asleep & this urgency in you
with some ability to cut into the rest of us surges in
your weakening frame. my hands have never looked
more mortal, outrage of plush circulation against
rough white blanket repeatedly bleached of its
witness. the backs of yours are bruised, thin skin
stone fruit & talons pressing in to the fleshy bit
below my thumb. this peppering of blood crescents
turns late summer memory of a sidewalk shadow
dancing in total solar eclipse—all moons scattered
in a way i’ve otherwise never seen light bend

ash good is the author of us clumsy gods (What Books Press, 2022) & four previous poetry collections. They are cofounding editor of First Matter Press, a nonprofit collective based in Portland, OR. Their poetry has been nominated for Best of the Net & appears in Faultline, Cimarron Review, 45th Parallel & others. www.ashgood.com