“Lorelei” by Keegan York
October 26, 2022
I can’t tell you how it kills me.
…..Song like the bleeding heart of fire
……….breeds the incandescent waver of
……………water rapt in wrapping ‘round
………………..the pearl. Invincible, the
stretch and tear of blue on white
…..seethes with the spirit of the moon.
……….I have a second sense for hollowness.
……………I receive the buoyant aura of a ship
like fish receive a metal lure.
…..Snatching is no more difficult a
……….feat than the withdrawal of the
……………tide. I could draw the moon
………………..down from the sky. Melody
like twine unfurling from this pretty throat.
…..The orb would glide into my stomach, stiffening
……….my aria. My form, my eyes would split, then spill
……………and rush with luminance. When I screamed the first time
a song slid out and I felt
…..the passion of the crash, recognizing
…………………………………..that the ocean desires
………………………………………………the rhythmic clap of rapture for the sake of it
Keegan York, 2022/23 Seattle Youth Poet Laureate cohort member, read this poem to open our 202/23 SAL Presents event with John Irving on Wednesday, October 26, 2022. Learn more about SAL’s Youth Poet Laureate program here.