Contemporary Poetry
1 min
Duplex: The River You Cannot Cross
NJ Byrne
NJ Byrne
Duplex: The River You Cannot Cross was selected as part of MSU Library Short Edition's call for submissions on the theme of "Home," in coordination with the MSU Broad Art Museum's exhibition "Where We Dwell." Nan Byrne is a poet and writer and the author of two books. Her work has appeared in a variety of literary magazines including Michigan Quarterly Review, Seattle Review, Fiction Southeast, New Orleans Review, The Mighty Line, and others. A former television writer she holds an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University, and is the owner of a vintage clothing shop called Utopia.
This is a hard country your mother is not here
Your father is not here
A father is not here
Maybe a cousin or a friend assist you
Sometimes a cousin or a friend
but not for long
They say not for long
Names that are more than family
Forget the names of your family
Dream they are a river you can not cross
The river you can not cross is a dream
The one you can not wake up from
Wake up from the dream
To be deprived of them is to make them appear
Your father is not here
A father is not here
Maybe a cousin or a friend assist you
Sometimes a cousin or a friend
but not for long
They say not for long
Names that are more than family
Forget the names of your family
Dream they are a river you can not cross
The river you can not cross is a dream
The one you can not wake up from
Wake up from the dream
To be deprived of them is to make them appear
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