Any One of These
Any one of these trees could be Daphne, any
cut of sun—Apollo
after seeing the Bernini.
Mirror images
of the miracle, sculpture
and dance,
the temerity of stone to resemble flesh, of flesh
to stretch itself liquid.
Daphne’s feet—halfway to roots.
Her fingers sprout leaves that will need
Apollo’s light. Enough to make me doubt
the photosynthetic covenant—
Whose idea was
desire?
Molly Kirschner is a poet, playwright, essayist, performer, and educator. Her poems have been published in journals including The Southern Review, The New Ohio Review, New Letters Magazine, and Arion: A Journal of Humanities and the Classics, and are forthcoming in The Sun Magazine. Her essay “Obstruction of Correspondence” appears in Poetry International Online. Kirschner was awarded the inaugural poetry residency at The Hundredth Hill. Her poetry collection Sweeten It with Salt, a finalist for the 2021 Four Way Books Levis Prize, is forthcoming from Etruscan Press. She works as the special initiatives coordinator for Engaging the Senses Foundation, a nonprofit devoted to poetry and the arts.
Photo Credit: Keir Willett