Behind
Back behind the words
another story
is being told —
a context other
than one I
would impose.
May I dim
in some new light’s
narrative
and — holding a page —
glimpse
a watermark,
as if
a whispered prayer
I so easily might have
lived without.
Copyright © 2022 by Jeff Hardin. Excerpted from Watermark (Madville Publishing). All rights reserved. Jeff Hardin is the author of six previous poetry collections, including A Clearing Space in the Middle of Being, No Other Kind of World, and Small Revolution. His work has been honored with the Nicholas Roerich Prize, the Donald Justice Poetry Prize, and the X.J. Kennedy Prize. Originally from Savannah, Tennessee, he has taught for almost three decades at Columbia State Community College.
Tagged: 2022 Southern Festival of Books, Book Excerpt, Poetry