Sandra Crouch
and the word for longing is your name
entire deserts of it
pierced by Joshua Trees
ochers sages oxides
dusted toward the soft horizon
some purpled bowl of mountains
holding the wide of what it means
to always want something other
the barrenness of that choice
a heart sieved
looks out and sees emptiness
the clear shimmer of all that isn’t yours
burning in the afternoon sun
the steam of it raging
against your quiet hungry skin
*titled after Jai Hamid Bashir’s poem “And the word for moonlight is my name.”
Sandra Crouch, MA, is a poet, floral designer, and letterpress printer living in Nashville. Her poems have been published in HAD, Jet Fuel Review, Nimrod, Rogue Agent, Rust+Moth, SWWIM, West Trestle Review, and elsewhere. You can read more work at https://sandracrouch.com.