So nice to meet you
and your kind spirit

I listened,
enraptured,
eyes wide and
bones melting,
to you

I clung to your voice
soft as it was,
lilting and lyrical,
whispering S's and
beautiful B's

I wanted to try the words
taste them for myself,
savor them,
their sweetness

And when I found you again
surrounded by professors
chins wobbling with their praise
and their stiff arms;
you so tall
had run out of books

So Julie
(whom I owe my eternal gratitude
and $13.25)
handed me hers,
smiling,
understanding

And you,
tall woman,
soft wood,
you wrote me a line

so nice to meet you
and your kind spirit
x*

And I ran to class,
feet pounding the pavement,
so fast I could fly,
for you gave me
your wings.

Consider the Hands that Write this Letter
BY ARACELIS GIRMAY
Consider the hands
that write this letter.
. . .
The Source
BY ***** HOWE
The source
I thought was Arctic
. . .
The Descent
BY ***** HOWE
The descent has deepened
the interior lengthened
. . .