ROOM:|6.20

SHELTER

by Nan Cohen

The poem I was going to write was smaller than this.

First it grew to the size of the room

until its flanks nudged the walls.

And then to the size of a house.

Walking through it was like

being inside a soap bubble in a dream,

the outside distorted and wavering.

And now we are all living in it—

our weather, our element.

There is nothing left to tell except

that this is what it is like

to live inside a poem—

the slanting light before dusk, and grief

brushing your cheek like a wing.

Bibliography and External Links

Nan Cohen is the author of two books of poetry, Rope Bridge and Unfinished City. The recipient of a Stegner Fellowship, a Rona Jaffe Writer’s Award, and an NEA Literature Fellowship, she lives in Los Angeles and codirects the poetry programs of the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference.
Email: nancohen@gmail.com

ROOM is entirely dependent upon reader support. Please consider helping ROOM today with a tax-deductible donation. Any amount is deeply appreciated.