Quiet Dawn

by Alexis Wilson

we made
a family from

                      the stillness

of a body—
wet grass held against my ankles

the night I lost a father
and you a husband
still dense on our tongues

time tangled and wasted!

we are survivors in this twilight
bruised under the half-
moon who awakens us

In the morning
we will rise with the dead
share our grits
and that
will be enough

melting butter

                      our solitude