Ordinary Time

On a sweeter day of sun and windy sky,
The hermit stands in his doorway drinking tea.
Though spring declares itself, it’s only January.
These gentle southern mountains seem to sigh
With longing. Above the trees, a hawk’s thin cry
Unspools, a silver thread of hunger. He
Listens. Hears his heart’s reply, its plea
For some release — but he is free. So, why?
His old desires in hand, always he yearns.
Heaven’s a break in clouds that here, today,
Have cleared, a warm breath when the wind is warm.
Is there anything he needs? Along his arm,
Hairs rise, prickling, prescient. This is the way
It strikes him. Satisfied, his soul still burns.


Sally Thomas

Sally Thomas's new book, Motherland, was a finalist for the 2018 Able Muse Book Award in poetry, and will appear from Able Muse Press in the fall of 2019. She is also the author of two poetry chapbooks: Fallen Water (2015) and Richeldis of Walsingham (2016), both from Finishing Line Press. Her poetry and fiction have appeared recently in The Agonist, Forma, Mezzo Cammin: An Online Journal of Formalist Poetry by Women, North Carolina Literary Review, The Orchards Poetry Journal, and Presence: A Journal of Catholic Poetry. She lives and writes in the Western Piedmont of North Carolina.


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