"Copper" by Sara Backer

Copper

Soft metal symbol of Venus and women,
redhead of metals that ages to cyan,
our Green Lady who lifts
the lamp of refuge. Annealing and healing,
you carry your currency into our homes,
safely conducting through pipes,
through wires, our water and heat
and light. No less lovely on pennies and bottoms
of pans than Rembrandt’s intaglios,
his intricate grooves, the flame
you burn bright green. Breathless
without your enzyme in our lungs,
breath-taken by your warmth, your sustenance.
Come on, you say. Ring bells, strike gongs!

Sara Backer

Sara Backer’s first book of poetry, Such Luck, follows two chapbooks: Scavenger Hunt and Bicycle Lotus, which won the Turtle Island Chapbook Award. Her honors include a prize in the Plough Poetry Competition, nine Pushcart nominations, and fellowships from the Norton Island and Djerassi resident artist programs. Recent publications include Lake Effect, Slant, CutBank Online, Poetry Northwest, and Kenyon Review. She currently lives in New Hampshire and reads for The Maine Review.

Headshot: Bryan Pfeiffer

Photo Credit: Staff