Exile by Lee Herrick

Our natural state is not

defensive or tense

but water in a resting

state. We state this

to be true in an age

of inquiry, our failure

to put what is just

before ease. There

are lovers in another country

reclining by a fire, admitting

love in a common language

with faith in the exiles

of their state, where

a woman looks at her friend

and says please, put down

your bag and stay.

Please, stay to see how

the movie ends. Take my hand.

I think the city might go

up in flames.

— Scar and Flower by Lee Herrick (Page 23)