The Owl Gia Anansi-Shakur     after Louise Glück’s “October” Violence has changed me something beautiful worldly, not comfortable living in a mouth I’ve long made habit of pulling off my skin by the forearm at night joining the arteries of lapping tongues and hardened wounds. I’ve found joy meditating on the quality of my self served stigmatas fracturing the columns of holy books An owl opens its mouth a church bell climbs out akimbo She has learned to tightrope in the dark Copyright © 2025 by Gia Anansi-Shakur. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on April 3, 2025, by the Academy of American [...]