EFFIGY OF THE GIVING
JOHN SWAIN
======
Parting before autumn
a kingfisher came
like a sorcerer
from the blue fire
of the bay.
I ate the pomegranates
and kept the seeds
growing inside me
to mourn
for the corn’s daughter.
The field bares stones
to raise an effigy
of the giving
like a king beheaded
to cleanse
and cause change
from a thrall
like love in death
I could never feel.
