Delmarva Review: Now Dimming by Mercedes Lawry

Author’s Note: Dusk is my favorite time of day. While I don’t have a direct view of the sunset from my house, I can often see swathes of various colors streaking the sky and a commotion of clouds. I find the quieting of the world leads to quieting of the spirit. The intersection with night usually comes in a slow sweep and when the clouds allow, begins to speckle the sky with stars.

Now Dimming

lucky the leftover
light
of a long day now
dimming in small
chapters as shadows inch
and colors emerge
more frantic
than mere description
such as gold, violet,
tangerine
the hour that empties
to evening, a caress,
a settling of the
soul
before the first star
beckons to the rest
and night falls
like the sweep
of a great cloak 

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Mercedes Lawry is the author of three chapbooks and the collection Vestiges from Kelsay Books. Her poetry has appeared in Nimrod, Another Chicago Magazine, Alaska Quarterly Review, and other literary journals. She’s been nominated several times for a Pushcart Prize. Her poetry collection, Small Measures, was recently published by ELJ Editions. She frequently publishes short fiction, as well, and was a semi-finalist in The Best Small Fictions 2016. She lives in Seattle, Washington.

The Delmarva Review, in St. Michaels, MD, gives selected writers a desirable home in print (with a digital edition) for their most compelling new prose and poetry to present to  discerning audiences everywhere. It exists at a time when many commercial print publications (and literary magazines) are closing their doors or reducing literary content. For each annual edition, the editors have read thousands of submissions (at no charge) to select the best of new poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. About half are from the Delmarva and Chesapeake region. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, support comes from tax-deductible contributions and a grant from Talbot Arts with funds from the Maryland State Arts Council. Website: www.DelmarvaReview.org