Kimberly Burwick was born and raised in Massachusetts. Burwick earned her BA in literature from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and her MFA in poetry from Antioch University, Los Angeles. She is the author of five books of poetry including her new collection, Brightword, forthcoming from Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2019. She is Clinical Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Washington State University.---------
[Surfclams vanishingly normal as some]
Surfclams vanishingly normal as some
burdened pulsing light
that separates dusk from bass,
chicory from buoyancy, the area
underneath a curve of peridot becomes
periwinkle—
we call for geese like geese,
their warm, travelled route makes arcs
like bluefish falling out of the sky,
we lie on sand to catch their scales
confetti us, our eyes and gaze
[Do not rescue the total brightness]
Do not rescue the total brightness
of the next turnings
of tide, Osprey not a word but a rising;
revolving claim that water
is a helpless as water, the boy stabs
the hermit shell with a clamming rake,
insects just so in the light, unto that hatch
the earth is headed unheeded
though we tell the ocean birds
the colors we’ve found in sand
[The earth warms to earth’s blue-crab dark]
The earth warms to earth’s blue-crab dark
then comes the soul with gull breath,
water dressing up the sand
with weather, the boy is built of cloud-melt
and tiny settlements of glory –
hair, body, nails – shine alone
far ahead, cluttered with scent, the whole
poisoned sea-rhythm still sure enough
to go on toward ribbed muscle and cod