At the Resort
Michael Meyerhofer
Snow fell, bright as false teeth.
Inside, we sat by a fireplace
and drank wine and tried not to
worry about what might be
waiting for us on the other side
of the moment. When it grew
too warm, we scooted back,
talked about opening
the door. A lovely woman
touched my hand. Later,
we leaned toward the cinders,
our backs italicized by age.
Tell my children I’m sorry
I never had them. Tell everyone
before this fire was a tree,
it was an acorn soaked in rain.
Michael Meyerhofer's fifth poetry book, Ragged Eden, was published by Glass Lyre Press. He has been the recipient of the James Wright Poetry Award, the Liam Rector First Book Award, the Brick Road Poetry Book Prize, and other honors. His work has appeared in many journals including Hayden's Ferry, Rattle, Brevity, Tupelo Quarterly, and Ploughshares. He is also the author of a fantasy series and the Poetry Editor of Atticus Review. For more information and an embarrassing childhood photo, visit www.troublewithhammers.com.