The Journal of the AGLSP

XXIII.CM14

 

Sarette Albin is a student in the Master of Liberal Studies program at Southern Methodist University. As a high school English teacher at an all-girls school in Dallas, she spends her days discussing literature and workshopping essays with her students (and hearing about the latest Taylor Swift gossip, of course). When not teaching or writing, Sarette can be found spoiling her dog rotten, going to the movies with her husband, or finding new places to explore.

poetry

Harvest

Sarette Albin, Southern Methodist University

 

I’ll cradle the sun

in my calloused palm

and pull slowly, gently

until crack!

The stem snaps.

And like a heavy, ripe melon

It rolls free from its hold.

 

Then one by one

I’ll pluck each of the stars,

Piling them high

In my loosely curled hand.

Careful of any pressure

Even the slightest at all

That might crush them like berries

And smear their red glow

through the empty night sky.

 

The moon I’ll catch last

In the wide swath of my sickle,

wrenching it free

from the grip of gravity.

 

I’ll harvest them all –

Our sources of light

To bundle in barns,

And pickle in jars.

I’ll ferment them in casks

Of old oak in cellars deep

Until only you remain

A gentle flicker in the dark.

 

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