Jim Daniels

In the Absence of Confession

Laval Saint Roman

Under high sun, memory’s sharp lines etch
themselves between sky and not-sky.
Between a cough and what is not
a cough. If there are clouds, they’re

in a hurry. Malignant growth of footsteps
sneaking up: remember. In that silence
a fig falls from a tree into fine gravel.
What country is this, borders drawn

with daggers? Bees buzz
winter’s coming sins. Forgiveness
squeezed out on both sides of that sharp
bloodless line. Rain has its brief say

and moves on. Once, you listened.
Now, fig flesh glistens in your teeth.

Jim Daniels

is the author, most recently, of The Luck of the Fall (fiction), published by Michigan State University Press. His recent poetry collections include The Human Engine at Dawn (Wolfson Press), Gun/Shy (Wayne State University Press), and Comment Card (Carnegie Mellon University Press). His first book of nonfiction, Ignorance of Trees, is forthcoming from Cornerstone Press. A native of Detroit, he currently lives in Pittsburgh and teaches in the Alma College low-residency MFA program.