Vermillion, South Dakota

a poem

For Joy Moore

Vermillion, South Dakota

Winter is coming
and I am not ready
to freeze in place,
in time.

I wish for a thousand 
years of sunshine and
small breezes, barefeet,
and river rocks. 

I wish for California, 
I suppose, which is a
real place but not 
really, anymore. 

My childhood home 
is now a desert with sandy
beaches full of signs that
read “Stop…” and “Do not…”

Is there any place left where
we can take our Summer Souls? 

I settle into the Midwest with
bowls of unwanted chili and 
puffy coats that everyone seems
to own and wear come October.

I settle down in a place I never
saw myself, with unexpected 
friendships that make winter
days feel more like a blanket 
than an ice storm. It is not 
warm here, not at all, 
but it is good. 

Cover image by Kelly Sikkema.