My Dream of the Stampede

“Winter Wood” by Ann-Marie Brown

I stay at the podium. I note the mid-summer
dust kicked up by the leopard lion tiger exiting,

the stringed lights, my corner of the world’s end.
I bring my hand to the mic and think is this thing on?
Of course it is and what do I expect of them

on a night in the poem of a dream where I watch
for who bothers to stop in a sea moving just quickly

enough its markings are otherwise already gone,
it’s so kind of you to stop by there are so many
things you could be doing on an evening like this.

About the Author

Lauren Mallett’s (she/her/hers) poems appear or are forthcoming in Poetry Northwest, Salamander, Passages North, Fugue, RHINO, and other journals. She lives on the occupied homelands of the Clatsop and Chinook tribes, also known as Oregon’s north coast. www.laurenmallett.com

About the Artist

Ann-Marie Brown is a Canadian artist currently working out of a studio on the west coast of British Columbia.  Her oil and encaustic paintings have been exhibited across Canada & the United States, and have found their way into collections around the world.  To see more of her artwork, go to www.annmariebrownpaintings.com