Lines, not things by Wendy McVicker in Farewell Issue, Journal of Mythic Arts, 2008 — Endicott Studio

Lines, not things

by Wendy McVicker

Edges of things, not the things themselves.


Borders, border crossings, not

the flat countries, all alike.


Boundaries, places of possibility

and want —


where no one is sure what currency

to use, what words will buy freedom,


where we (orphans, all) can slip

like shadows, or dreams


from one world to another, forgetting

nothing —


all we need, carried

in our eyes: eyes the color


of earth, of sky, of water

crossed by clouds —


weighing what words matter,

and what words to leave behind, wrapped


in silence










About the Author:
Wendy McVicker lives and writes in the beautiful green hills of Athens, Ohio. In her poetry, she seeks "to honor memory and the slow, deep process of knowing." Her poems have appeared in Appalachian Women's Journal, Confluence, Riverwind, and Whiskey Island, among others. She is a teaching poet with the Ohio Arts Council's Arts in Education program, and has been inciting poetry in schools, libraries, galleries, and community centers since 1987.

Copyright © 2008 by Wendy McVicker. This poem may not be reproduced in any form without the author's express written permission.



Farewell Issue   |   JoMA Poetry Archives