Poetry by Jory Mickelson

             Sippanont Samchai CC




Late Morning, Separation

Walking in the fields, driving
the long roads to nowhere
in particular, all was 
distance. We did not belong
as a mountain might,
together to its blue. There was

no going further so we sang
teach us to care then
teach us to move on. How
the mountain can unslip its centuries
of hue. But now, who will remember

I held a newborn goat all damp
heat and legs. Who will I hold
it up to? The finegrain light
through the mist, off the bay
touches the darkpined islands--

The ones newcomers are always mistaking
                                                               at first for mountains.
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Jory Mickelson’s first book, WILDERNESS//KINGDOM, was the inaugural winner of the Evergreen Award Tour from Floating Bridge Press and winner of the 2020 High Plains Book Award in Poetry. Their publications include Court Green, Painted Bride Quarterly, Jubilat, Sixth Finch, Diode Poetry Journal, The Rumpus, Ninth Letter, Vinyl Poetry and other journals.  They are the recipient of an Academy of American Poets Prize and were awarded fellowships from the Lambda Literary Foundation and the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico.

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