Leslie Harrison
Prayer for a thousand tomorrows
I chose I chose I would choose again my own knowing
my own sewn sown indwelling self this soft-sturdy body
the way it wants to step out of the gate into this perfect
suffering land step from the mulched the top-dressed
pruned watered and performing garden step through the gate
full willing full weary of the plan the planted ordered controlled
step past the fence beyond the house-not-home through
the leaning locking gate step into the forest once more
into fox home bear home tree-lit sheltered dim ask them
to bear my presence once more suffer me to go again
among them who have no gardens who have other lessons
in philosophy in god who pray with their whole lives
the way I want to the way I sometimes can
Leslie Harrison is the author of three books, most recently Reck (Akron 2023). Her second book, The Book of Endings (Akron 2017) was a finalist for the National Book Award. Her first book, Displacement (Mariner 2009) was selected by Eavan Boland for the Bakeless Prize in poetry from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. Recent poems have been published or are forthcoming in VQR, New England Review, West Branch, and elsewhere. She divides her time between Baltimore and the Berkshires.