Cate Lycurgus

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Cate Lycurgus

The Life You’ve Always

 
Imagine—cheeksters tossed
on the rug—: say that maroon
is yours. Say someone wants you
every night & every night
it’s novel. Or say sure & mean it
won’t be too late for you
to revise beneath this sky-
way—: that it couldn’t be less
aligned. More spangled. Above,
below—imagine how—even asphalt
glitters. In alleyways yet—
flecks cling to your temples
where you are anointed.
With noise or spit-up; sweat,
or bleeding that ends up
benign. Say the dog never
went blind, that you didn’t
have to watch the river dry-
erase itself from the map
or drag the progress bar back
to before your dear heart
crumpled. Say never enough
time to kiss all the aunties good-
bye; burn through a paycheck,
mamma’s grace, period for planting
the avocado—: say it extended
longer than the taproot furred
white in its jar & this wasn’t why
it died. Greedy. Imagine
toothpicks as one attempt, but
guacamole this rich was never
meant to last. That you will
sabotage better next time—say
there will be one. Or no—
say this too, is life
 

Cate Lycurgus reads “The Life You’ve Always”

 

Deliverance

 
Along the shoreline, waves spread froth fingers
purling as they reach. They don’t quite
reach before receding, don’t quite
recede before being trundled
up in another attempt. Everything’s coming right at you,
they tell me, when what they really mean is
don’t stand so far back. I watch one race
to sud sand clean—no matter
how close—the surge can’t sweep the jelly back
before rushing in with another. Come
as far as it can touch, in the final
instant of hush—the orb
scuds away, opaque. What follows is only the slow-
seethe into a darkened-down beach. No
scrying, no crying—there are
no exquisite exits.
You can fail this relentless every day of your life.
And the tide never turn for you re-
turning might have to
suffice
 

Cate Lycurgus reads “Deliverance”

 

Cate Lycurgus’s poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Best American Poetry, Ploughshares, The Kenyon Review, New England Review, and elsewhere. She has also received scholarships from Bread Loaf and Sewanee Writers’ Conferences and 2nd place in Narrative’s Annual Poetry Contest for 2022. Cate lives in San Jose, California, where she interviews for 32 Poems and teaches professional writing. You can find her at www.catelycurgus.com.