By Willie Wilson

I unfasten my stay-in-the-box
perception, unfasten what I think
is possible
and open my mind
to possibility,

with his book in my hand
mouthing words he mouthed
when he made each poem—

blended each word
in a realm of its own but
not on its own. Imagine

sitting on a page,
resting on each letter, soaking
in a sentence. His reasons

stretch further than simple love.
Love to sit    on the edge of a cliff,
lean forward and leap love.
Love to swing
from a crow’s wing and let go—

shaping white space into new
realities. I know ’cause I hear it.
I hear it in the plosives,
in the liquids, and sibilants I know.
I know ’cause I see it,

I see sleep as a sweet ghost
and arms the shade of toffee,
bare brown legs dancing
under flimsy culottes and I wonder

how does he make it work:
Make my hands five-legged
pocket spiders and my brain
a wrinkled suitcase,
take a ride on the sky
river-for what?!

For love, for the thrill of the ideal
of spreading poetry—
making the world view words
in new ways.

 

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Willie Wilson, 29, is a poet from the Hampton Roads area. He attends college and majors in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. He views poetry as a bridge between language and the human condition which he enjoys sharing with eyes near and far.