Richard Siken

 

Detail of the Hayfield

I followed myself for a long while, deep into the field. 
Two heads full of garbage. 

Our scope was larger than I realized, 
which only made me that much more responsible. 

Yellow, yellow, gold, and ocher. 
We stopped. We held the field. We stood very still. 

Everyone needs a place. 

You need it for the moment you need it, then you bless it— 
thank you soup, thank you flashlight— 

and move on. Who does this? No one.