Arms Raised, Palms Open

Inspired by Aldo Carpi's "Nude Man with Arms Outstretched" (1911)

by Laine Derr

When Jill and I got married,
we had nothing. I gave my days
to clouds drifting without care
that life is fragile. Here tomorrow,
gone today, but not yet my love.
My mouth is full of wing-footed words murmuring an air of blue.
In the next life, I am a breeze,
but now I stand in lines that never move
as insects crawl along my tongue – tasting of dusk.
At night I stretch beyond myself.
At night, this moment, I reach for you.