The Hour-Wasp
Jay Sheets
Violet muse rests deep, as nine
serpents writhe in sleep—
charms at a devil’s cotillion,
runes carved in blue clay
under nine bellies illume
secrets to the skinless
moon. Ivory crow caws
white magic, gods fall
from coral cirrus, bodiless
feathers float in hot ether,
one river blood-silver, energy—
red seahorses flame in gold water,
two saguaros cross spines,
form a W—the hour-wasp wakes.
Jay Sheets studies Mythopoetics at Goddard College in Vermont, where he’s also a poetry editor for the literary journal, Duende. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Hermeneutic Chaos, Aleola, and The Albion Review. Sheets lives in Salem, Mass. Find him: www.jaysheets.com