Spring 2023, Volume 34

Poetry by Bruce Parker

Further Development

Be open to the possibility of further development,
—Mark Doty

You swish the slick paper around
in the slightly sloshed tray smelling a vague chemical smell
waiting for the image
to rise from the bath
dripping as a baby from the plastic tub in mother’s two hands—
and what will it develop into,
what image from the gray cloud it first was—
be open, be open.

 

 

 

BIO: Bruce Parker is the author of the chapbook Ramadan in Summer, (Finishing Line Press, 2022). He holds an MA in Secondary Education from the University of New Mexico. His work appears in Triggerfish Critical Review, The Field Guide, Blue Unicorn, Cerasus, (UK) and elsewhere. He lives in Portland, Oregon, and is an Associate Editor at Boulevard.