Poetry
Bite
Michael Blaine
issue five
An unseen tick fastens
without hurry—
a dark bead of patience
on my skin’s pale field.
It takes what it needs,
leaves behind
fever, fog,
names of things
too long to whisper.
But never in the giving
better sleep,
clearer sight,
a soft song slipped
into my memory.
No. Each exchange
with the wild
seems tilted
one cruel degree
against me.
About the Author
Briefly about Michael Blaine, his chapbook, Murmur (Bay Oak Publishing), was the winner of the Dogfish Head Poetry Prize. His second chapbook, Brackish Water, was published by Broadkill Publishing. He grew up on the Delmarva Peninsula and earned English degrees at Ole Miss and Salisbury University. He taught English at a public high school for over twenty years and currently teaches English at Delaware Technical Community College.
Leave a Reply