22 May Erin Robinsong
LATE PRAYER
May our weapons be effective feminine inventions that like life.
May we blow up like weeds, and be medicinal and everywhere.
May the disturbed ground be our pharmacy. May the exhausted
hang out in the beautiful light. May our souls moisten and reveal us.
May our actions be deft as the inhale after a dream of suffocation.
May the oligarchs get enough to eat in their souls.
May we participate in the intelligence we’re in.
May we grow into our name. May political harm
be a stench that awakens. May we not be distracted.
Let our joy repeated be power that spreads.
May our wealth be common. May oligarchs come out
of their fortresses and become psychologically well.
May their wealth be returned to the people and places.
May we shift slide rise tilt roll and twist.
May we feel the very large intimacy
And may it assist us.
This poem was originally published in Erin Robinsong’s debut collection of poetry Rag Cosmology (BookThug). Erin is a poet and interdisciplinary artist who lives in Montreal and Toronto. She has an MFA from the University of Guelph, is a recipient of the Irving Layton Award for Poetry, and has been nominated for a KM Hunter Award. She has driven horse carriages, sold knives, restored books for a living, and is currently a teacher and editor.
