Anna Cates

From a Distance

On the other side of the mountains, matters differ.  Women unknot their fingers, unbind their hair. Locks thrash in protest like whips.  Men screech like yetis, wide-eyed with fear.  They harry the silence as if fate could hurry any faster.  Others simply fall asleep.

Convictions . . . strange birds in a forbidden jungle . . . such are the imaginations of humankind. Depictions in rock art:  People with antennae or bunny ears . . . phantasmagorias of the mind?

midnight fog
in nebulous courses
rank wisteria
slowly falling apart
every fragile certainty

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About the Author

Anna Cates lives in Ohio with her two cats, Freddie and Fifi, and teaches writing, literature, and graduate education online.  Her most recent poetry collections include The Golem & the Nazi (Red Moon Press) and The Journey (Wipf & Stock).