Joannie Stangeland
Trace Left by a Moving Point
Curve of a thumbnail.
Curve of the cup and its handle.
Curve of a grin, just before full smile.
Curve of a wave breaking over
an old photo, waves of laughter traveling.
Curve in the road you can't see around
until you get past it, and there's a pasture,
some goats or a pony, its head curved into the grass.
Curve of an arbor rose-emboldened
and the curving backs of petals unfolding.
Curve of the pond's mucky edge.
Curve of a lens, the better to see with.
Curve of hip, lower lip, a shoulder, an ear.
The curves of branches reaching up to the night.
Rising above the sleeping trees,
the thinnest curve of moon.
Bio
Joannie Stangeland is the author of several collections, including The Scene You See (Ravenna Press). Her poems have also appeared in Meridian, The Pedestal Magazine, Whale Road Review, The MacGuffin, and other journals. Joannie holds an MFA from the Rainier Writing Workshop.