voice | poetry
His eyes close
As if he prays
Corners of his mouth
Move as a young cat
Dreams of suckling
Does his faith send a
Request to his god
Or does he dream.
A tear falls from the
Outside corner
Lands on his collar
No—it’s sweat,
A drop from his hair.
Old man is like a babe
Resting in a crib
Constructed by days
Of hard labor
Hammered by nights
With jarred hooch
Shannon Laws is a poet, producer, and advocate for the arts. She is the recipient of the Village Books Literary Citizenship Award, with two Mayor’s Arts Awards and the Dr. Asha Bhargava Memorial Award — Community Champion. Shannon is the author of four poetry books, one poetry album and publishes Corridor, a free monthly poetry zine. She lives in Bellingham, Washington. View more posts
shannon p. laws