Mere Mention
of laurels & “Lycidas”
incriminates me into a haphazard lineage.
When I pluck a ripening orange
from a Floridian grove
somewhere near the Fountain of Youth
I hold it to the sun as if a skull,
inspecting its every inch for defect & answer.
Does a bone in fact have a shelf life?
Does the very concept of skeleton distinguish itself
from that which withers?
Do I find myself drawn to exotic flora
because they make better gifts than the vulgar fare
I separate from roadside trash?
Do I note them because a bouquet lifts spirits
& thus counteracts the spell
of that harder substance that somehow,
for all this, holds the meat of us
together?
incriminates me into a haphazard lineage.
When I pluck a ripening orange
from a Floridian grove
somewhere near the Fountain of Youth
I hold it to the sun as if a skull,
inspecting its every inch for defect & answer.
Does a bone in fact have a shelf life?
Does the very concept of skeleton distinguish itself
from that which withers?
Do I find myself drawn to exotic flora
because they make better gifts than the vulgar fare
I separate from roadside trash?
Do I note them because a bouquet lifts spirits
& thus counteracts the spell
of that harder substance that somehow,
for all this, holds the meat of us
together?
Jacob SchepersJacob Schepers is the author of the poetry collection A Bundle of Careful Compromises (Outriders Poetry Project, 2014) and the chapbook Connections & Choreography (Bottlecap Press, 2024). His poems have recently appeared or are forthcoming in Dialogist, The Greensboro Review, Harpur Palate, and Heavy Feather Review. He teaches at the University of Notre Dame, and, with Sara Judy, he edits the poetry journal ballast.
Website // www.jacobschepers.com Twitter // @JacobSchepers Instagram // @jacobschepers Bluesky // @jacobschepers.bsky.social |