Chitra Ganesh, How to Assemble a Flying Car (detail), 2018, linocut on tan BFK Rives. Courtesy of the artist & Durham Press.
strength
it repeats the names of stone & water
like lost religions.
it has hidden its pearls behind clenched
teeth.
the childs hand tightens to a fist;
each knuckle is an acorn put there to get
strength through the winter.
that a diamond survives not because its beautiful
but because its hard is a sad song, but
it is the only one that strength knows
W. Bent Nicholsen is seeking a publisher for his first book, By Word of Mouth. (updated 1974)