heavy altar (no elevation),
a miracle trodden. The Crystal Diggers knew it to be true: reorient devotion to ground–uncontained,
in its own order. The walls were built only to catch its slipping holy, singing dually lean on into fervor.
Praise at the collapse. Breath of Burning, weightless silver saunters in gravitational cycloning downward,
toward that which is absorbent. & for this, what can you withstand? What will you let go?
Guggenheim Poet-in-Residence presented in association with the Academy of American Poets. Made possible by Van Cleef & Arpels. Reprinted with permission of the author.Â
S*an D. Henry-Smith
S*an D. Henry-Smith is the author of Wild Peach (Futurepoem, 2020), which was shortlisted for the PEN Open Book Award. S*an is an artist and writer working primarily in poetry, photography, performance, and publishing,