In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

  • If These Should Hold Their Peace
  • Derick Mattern (bio)

In spring wild horses ascendthrough mullein and sedgeto rub noses with the mount

of the worn-away saint and stamphooves at the figure cringingunderneath. Deer come too

and knock antlers on spandrels,remembering the miracle oftheir milk. Swallows swoop

and snuggle in the gapingeyes of saints above the rootwreckedfloor. Winter-weary,

wheat stands watch with cannygrace and branches tug shy wallsto skirts against the chorus of rain.

Loose rocks fall and fling a notetrembling down the aisle wherethe apse strokes its grassy beard

as if recalling a long-lost troparion.Vines tick through generationsof resurrections as bellflowers

rustle in their cowls. Spiders spinvestments for shadows. At evensongthe stones themselves cry out. [End Page 130]

Derick Mattern

derick mattern holds an MFA in poetry from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His poems and translations have appeared in Gulf Coast, Asymptote, The Journal, and Copper Nickel, among other journals.

...

pdf

Share