after Mary Szybist

But give me your silences,
and I will wear them on my clothes,

the delicate remains of your tongue
clinging to this body, these limbs

you gave me to fruit the world.
Give me your absences, too,

and I will carry them, happily,
I will hang each emptiness

from these limbs, this body
you gave me to overcome.

So when the wind blows,
I will rattle back to you

something like praise.
So I will be the hand ringing

your ossuary of bells,
these skeletons you spoke to me,

these words I crush
in the hollow of my hand.

But give me your silences,/ and I will wear them on my clothes,

This article appears in May 15 2017.

Cameron Alexander Lawrence lives in Decatur, Ga., with his wife and four children. His poems recently appear in The Florida Review, The Shallow Ends, Ruminate, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, West Branch, and elsewhere.