In Your Absence by Jake St. John

I spend my minutes
looking towards
the moon

a waning crescent
a sliver
in the night

you there
in the north woods
and me
here in the hills
of my birth

I think of you
below maritime stars
eyes lit
like a field
of mayflowers

I stand
by my pit
of fire

flames
kissing
the night
as I would
your neck

my heart
in your hands

one defends
and the other
conquers

you have
conquered
all of me

I lay myself
down before you
like a vast
tilled field
ready
to be sown

you have
dug your fingers
into the meadows
of my heart

you've planted
your seeds

come fall
we'll harvest grain

Jake St. John spends nights in a fort on the edge of the woods.  He is the author of several collections of poetry including Snow Moon (Holy & Intoxicated Publications, 2019), Lost City Highway (A Jabber Publication, 2019) and Working Man’s Odyssey (Analog Submission Press, 2018). His poems have appeared in print and online journals around the world.