Behind each utterance, is the idea
of freedom. A blossoming
escape route to meaning,
a longing: for God, perhaps
or something else. Just once,
I’d like to surrender
bend to the easy revelry—
the sky on vacation, the wind
unfurling at night—the softest
of cat’s paws. Cast me again
against the shore of your pelvis.
Bear down so hard
that I become cavernous, a spectacle
of emptiness. Not once,
but over and over—
tell me you love me.
God, just once
hold me above the clouds.
Sjohnna McCray earned his MFA from the University of Virginia. He is the 2015 recipient of the Walt Whitman Award from the Academy of American Poets for his collection, Rapture. He lives with his husband and orange tabby cat in Athens, Georgia.