Night Market
By Norma Cole
Rock or tree, inflexion
of tree, wild asparagus
and watercress, weeping
and leaving, parting and
fleeing, atmosphere
as always the distance
when the sun was still
shining, scattering
ardor, a metal form
straight as a cypress
useful and unnecessary
single or double, green
or variegated, sensation
recording upheaval, desertion
or deception to protect
a love, lore on a tablet
the song a minimal grammar,
walls, bridges, cement could
take the weight, lamentations
a fire, the easy kill in the night
Copyright Credit: Norma Cole, "Night Market" from Alibi Lullaby. Copyright © 2025 by Norma Cole. Reprinted by permission of Omnidawn Publishing.
Source: Alibi Lullaby (Omnidawn Publishing, 2025)