Prism Cell

/ Issue 12.3 /

Sun on the drenched rhododendron
After a blackened hour
Of rain, and see how each
Droplet’s prism cell
Is a bright, tiny breach
In a dark walled tower;

See lone multitudes of souls
Waving toward you—at you—
The signal rag of their painfully
Stripped-down message of misery
And neglect: hear a plea,
Even now, for a blazing rescue.

Brad Leithauser

Brad Leithauser

Brad Leithauser is the author of seventeen books, including most recently The Promise of Elsewhere: A Novel (Knopf, 2019) and The Oldest Word for Dawn: New and Selected Poems (Knopf, 2013). The recipient of numerous awards, including a MacArthur Fellowship, he is a professor in the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University.
Brad Leithauser

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Author: Brad Leithauser

Brad Leithauser is the author of seventeen books, including most recently The Promise of Elsewhere: A Novel (Knopf, 2019) and The Oldest Word for Dawn: New and Selected Poems (Knopf, 2013). The recipient of numerous awards, including a MacArthur Fellowship, he is a professor in the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University.