Angel
When I was almost a woman
the men in the radio
called someone I thought
might be me
an angel and a baby.
I wasn't offended.
What did I know?
I knew I would have to
empty myself to fit inside
the songs. And I wanted
to be in them as long as
they lived, to be called to
and never come. To be full of
my lighter and lighter self,
with literally no place to go
as it is in heaven
Between
"The,"
we say,
making
our claim
on eternity.
"The"
short gray
sidewalk between
those shaved strips
of lawn
_____________________
Rae Armantrout
Go Figure
Wesleyan University Press, 2024
