begins in the cheeks of wind –
celestial glassblower

of medallion of sun, ivory horn of moon
the stallions of stars who graze the night.

In the fierce furnace of our days
open palms of green are shaped in autumn fire.

We see what we can, while we can:
sky and leaf, turning one from the other

Linda Opyr was the Nassau County Poet Laureate 2011-13.  She is the author of eight collections of poetry and her poems have appeared in Poetry Ireland Review, The Hudson Review, and The New York Times, as well as other publications in Ireland, Wales, England and the United States.