And if you have no coins or skyscraper,
then parachute from your mind into blossom,
and if you have no parachute or mind,
then walk three times around a burning fire
and if you have no fire in your foot, invite
the shut-eyed horse to rest on your shoulder.
I have no blossom, no shoulder.
Just the bookshelf where I file myself
between fantasy and theory. If I
come to you late with the moon in my hair,
un-shelf me, pour me a martini made of wind.
Melissa Studdard is the author of two poetry collections, I Ate the Cosmos for Breakfast and Dear Selection Committee. Her work has been featured in outlets such as PBS, NPR, The New York Times, The Guardian, and the Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-Day series. Her awards include The Penn Review’s Poetry Prize, the Tom Howard Prize from Winning Writers, the Lucille Medwick Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America, and more.
