“What Is A Poet” by Hollie Dugas

What Is A Poet

but a speck of earth — barely
an obstruction to God’s
magnanimous eye — imagining
their version of love and death?
Why does He invite himself into
every soft and lonely heart?
I want to wear the skin shed
from bodies He inhabits
like a fitted onesie, sleep
knowing my thoughts live
inside them, becoming
enveloped in circadian rhythm.
Here, here, sit on the pulse of
my tongue. I’ll tell your truth so
perfect, it will seem a lie.
I’ll rock your heart to slumber;
then, beat it to death. Yes,
with me, you’ll suffer infinity
in a single second.

Hollie Dugas

Hollie Dugas lives in New Mexico. Her work has been included in Barrow Street, Reed Magazine, Qu, Redivider, Porter House Review, Salamander, Poet Lore, Mud Season Review, The Louisville Review, The Penn Review, Breakwater Review, Sixth Finch, Gordon Square Review, Phoebe, Broad River Review, and Louisiana Literature. Additionally, “A Woman’s Confession #5,162” was selected as the winner of Western Humanities Review Mountain West Writers’ Contest (2017). Hollie has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and for inclusion in Best New Poets. Most recently, her poem was selected as winner of the 22nd Annual Lois Cranston Memorial Poetry Prize at CALYX, in addition to the 2022 Heartwood Poetry Prize . She was also a finalist in Atlanta Review’s 2022 International Poetry Contest.

Headshot: Holly Schullo

Photo Credit: Staff