Erin Wilson

Theme and Variation

i. 

Winter solstice,
I sit in the darkness of morning,
a dove in the palm of a quiet giant 

ii. 

Winter solstice,
what is this liminal holiness?
Which way do I step through the door? 

iii. 

Winter solstice, I can't see you;
why is it you feel like sperm and ovum?

(a boot drops to the floor in the darkness)

iv. 

Winter solstice,
am I paranoid?
I don't want to break this sacred circle

(hangnail, dirty hair, empty coffee cup) 

v. 

Are you a country,
winter solstice?

diaspora, diaspora, diaspora...

vi. 

Winter solstice,
as I leave you, I approach you again—
walking the Ferris wheel's circumference

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Erin Wilson's poems have recently appeared or are forthcoming in december magazine, Tar River Poetry, Verse Daily, Reed Magazine, One and in numerous other publications. Her first collection is At Home with Disquiet. Her latest collection, Blue, is about depression, grief and the transformative power of art (both with Circling Rivers). She lives in a small town on Robinson-Huron Treaty territory in Northern Ontario, Canada.