limbs like vines reach for sky
but find only themselves to climb

the arms make a ring
the legs step through & twisting
bending
writhing

a man ties himself
into knots

there you can see
the woman walking
arched
on her hands
& there the girl
curled so small
she can hold
herself
in her palm

somewhere a young boy
practices
the shapes
of his father.

O, we are lucky there are no locks
on heaven’s gates

for what good are all these keys
that have lost their shape

with grief?

Joshua Preston is a writer and historian whose work has appeared in Minnesota History, Middle West Review, Popshot Quarterly, and elsewhere. You can find him online at JPPreston.com.

Posted in: Poetry