Challenge

Every day 
starts after a soft muffle. The rhythm of the hub, track,
the anger, aftermath, admissions. 

Or: the grain mill, ritual, engine. 

And outside,
patched-over lichen.
The mind and the subject. Tell me which we need. 

ξ

Lauren Camp is the author of five books, most recently Took House (Tupelo Press). Honors include the Dorset Prize and finalist citations for the Arab American Book Award and New Mexico-Arizona Book Award. Her poems have appeared in DIAGRAM, Witness and Kenyon Review, and been translated into Mandarin, Turkish, Spanish, and Arabic. www.laurencamp.com