In the book of optical illusions
first you see the ancient one
butting heads with the rabbit
then you see the young woman
carrying the duck.
The scintillating black dots
in white circles
seen from the corner of your eye
are not there.
Move the book six feet
away: the angry face is full
of joy.
Close your eyes—
God is the circling buzzards,
the mangled furry thing in the clearing
too beaten to stand:
something you’ve chanced upon
on the sunny path down the mountain.
Rebekah Remington’s poems have appeared in Linebreak, The Missouri Review, Ninth Letter, Hayden Ferry’s Review, Blackbird, and elsewhere. Her chapbook Asphalt (CityLit Press, 2013) was selected by Marie Howe for the Clarinda Harriss Poetry Prize. A recipient of two Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Awards in poetry, Remington lives in Catonsville and works for the Baltimore County Public Schools. (updated 5/2014)