oh say can they see. or so they say. nothing. o globe. and nothing is
anything without economic value. and nothing is so the neighbors
don’t know. and nothing is something to notice. o cosmos. nothing
is everywhere. respiration and combustion. o this air this breath. o
this lake is ocean. stay above water. hover above shadowy layers.
aimless, directionless, a recognition of helplessness. you will meet
land when the wind has carried you far enough
Milwaukee native Jen Benka is the author of the poetry collections Pinko (forthcoming from Hanging Loose Press) and A Box of Longing With Fifty Drawers (Soft Skull Press). After living in New York City for nearly a decade, where she worked as the managing director of Poets & Writers, she recently relocated to San Francisco.
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