That latticed sleep, that shuttered eye,
            that moment’s lack
Of color—like a natural dye
            turned neither black

Nor white, but something in between,
            so that before
And after cast no spell. That stream,
            that pallid moor

And withered lake, those waters calm
            and welcoming,
Where nothing stirs or gives alarm,
            and no birds sing.

Jared Carter’s fifth collection of poems is A Dance in the Street from Wind Publications in Kentucky.