Approximately Forever

By C. D. Wright b. 1949

She was changing on the inside

it was true what had been written

The new syntax of love

both sucked and burned

The secret clung around them

She took in the smell

Walking down a road to nowhere

every sound was relevant

The sun fell behind them now

he seemed strangely moved

She would take her clothes off

for the camera

she said in plain english

but she wasn’t holding that snake

C. D. Wright, “Approximately Forever” from Steal Away: New and Selected Poems. Copyright © 2002 by C. D. Wright. Reprinted with the permission of Copper Canyon Press, P. O. Box 271, Port Townsend, WA 98368-0271, www.coppercanyonpress.org.

Source: Steal Away: New and Selected Poems (2002)

Biography

C.D. Wright was born in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, the daughter of a judge and a court reporter. She has published over a dozen books, including Rising, Falling, Hovering (2008); Like Something Flying Backwards: New and Selected Poems (2007); and a text edition of One Big Self: An Investigation (2003), a project she undertook with photographer Deborah Luster to document Louisiana inmates. She has also published several . . .

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