The Country and City

Katy Lederer


And the city had come by itself and had drawn itself up
And I sat relaxed on the porch disapproving of
Betrothal and manners—
The uncouth
Your servant
Was washing her face
So that all I could see was the sparkling ring
Of her sadness—
Her lips were forthright
Her mind, it was
Dreamy—the messengers to them had fled to the mountains
Where country and city
Had then taken charge
The advance by itself
Was an entrance
And me, just
your servant and
Her
Being me was too difficult—
This was a good thing according to Alex
As he said to me then
Therefore, this Friday
I could not call you



Katy Lederer: poems have recently appeared in The Kenyon Review, The American Poetry Review, The Recluse, and The Boston Review. I had a book out in 2017 with Atelos Press with another on the way this year on Solid Objects. I often write about climate change for print and online magazines.