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July 7, 2023

Eden

as a portal
or the barrel
of a cannon
a tipped-over balustrade

 

To be dressed
minimally,
fig-like,

 

the tree the neighbors,
who became friends,

 

shared for maybe
twenty years,
on the fence line,
the leaves large
enough to hide
the provisionary fruit

 

Shot
straight into the air,
up and over
or on

 

the feel of no harm
the erasure of what

 

is tempting
shot straight

 

into the air, a heart
outside of Eden.

​

___

by Terri McCord

Terri McCord has won awards from journals, the Vermont Studio Center, and the South Carolina Arts Commission. Her work has been included in several anthologies. Her latest collection is The Beauts from Finishing Line Press. She has taught design and art, as well as composition.

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