M.J. Iuppa


Lessons of Sky
 
In late October, in evening, after the first hard frost, the twilight
sky lift our chins to take in the unseen, the celadon green, the
color said to be mi se— mystery, only this is sky, and we are driving
home, staring at our future— the fish hook moon floating among
loose lines of geese flying West, looking for safety; and us able
to speak without secrecy, knowing in this hour, after dinner and
conversation that still comes easy, we see this sky with patience
to carry us beyond what we know— that shade of green.
 


Cemetery of Insects
 
By twilight, I find illusion in the woods
and step closer, kneeling among fallen
 
trees and a thousand copper leaves
to peer beneath the moss-covered
 
rock, lying on its side— exposing                                                                    
an ancient city asleep in decay—
 
cemetery of insects— the millions
that fled their lives to write in the dark,
 
beneath damp earth, mouthing
secrets of solitude; or, is it grief
 
that’s as desperate as I
appear to be, stretching
 
shadows to the rising moon?



Switch-on Morning
 
Our window blinds are pulled tight. Not a crack
of light seeps into the bedroom’s cocooned darkness. 
Only brash sounds of hands searching drawers in
the kitchen below pry open up my eyes with a start:
What? I wince beneath the weight of blankets that
hold my body in its shape of a twisted paperclip. 
How am I not in pain in this position?  What dreams
left me to this hour’s contemplation?  It’s New Year’s
Day. I remember this, along with the instructions on                                                                           
how to open a new book, page by page, gently pressing
a crease to its spine. This is how you preserve a book’s
long life— same as my own, I imagine—another day
that begins by its measure of unfolding.

M.J. Iuppa’s fifth full length poetry collection The Weight of Air (Kelsay Books) was released in September 2022; a chapbook of 24 100-word stories, Rock. Paper. Scissors., is forthcoming from Foothills Publishing. For the past 34 years, she has lived on a small farm near the shores of Lake Ontario. Check out her blog: mjiuppa.blogspot.com for her musings on writing, sustainability & life’s stew.

 
 

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