Rachel Walker

Pantoum

Soon, the paper birch will shed its bark
beside the unnamed statue checkered with rust.
When I returned to the old house,
sunset kindled the onion flowers.           

Before the statue was checkered with rust,
we buried a bird beneath the molded bark.
After the sunset, an onion flower hovered
like a second moon above the grave. 

The buried bird molds beneath the bark,
and I place my subject behind your eyes.
For a second, the moon above the grave
is sharp: it crosses over our shadows. 

This place is my subject. Behind your eyes,
the old house returns. When I
am sharp, I will cross over our shadows,
and the paper birch will shed its bark.

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Rachel Walker is a poet from Maryland. She currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she is an MFA candidate at UNLV. Her work has previously appeared in Mud Season Review.