The Ritual by Martin Willitts Jr.

the sky is vapor 

the occurrence of stars is resigned 

to be covered by high humidity

 

down here we cannot see the evidence

although grass browns

and goes dormant

 

all of this is darkly beautiful

even when the stars are obliterated

we dare to call this Life

 

a millennia of civilizations have fallen

not one ever harvested peace

not one was beyond ruin

 

we have spent our lives in disarray

loosening more and more of our heart

we begin with forgetting and then

 

a blue calf whale surfaces near our boat

descending in an arc leaving a trail of water

sending gulls into total madness

Martin Willitts Jr forthcoming poetry books include “Dylan Thomas and the Writer’s Shed” (FutureCycle Press, 2017), “Nasturtiums in Snow Understand Green Is Coming” (Foothills Press, 2017), “Three Ages of Women” (Deerbrook Editions, 2017), “Martin Willitts Jr Greatest Hits” (Kattywompus Press), and Turtle Island Editor’s Choice Award for his chapbook, “The Wire Fence Holding Back the World” (Flowstone Press).