made a refuge of

We are sons of the desert who cultivate the top half-inch of soil.
— Frank Bidart, “Mourning What We Thought We Were”

out in the woods / small fires interspersed do their best
to swallow whatever darkness their light can / some howl
some scream / some weep some cheer / some out of answers
silently meditate against the doom / while we do our part
gathered around throwing sticks to the center / illuminating one another

Jack C. Buck is the author of Deer Michigan, Gathering View, and More Birds. He is a public librarian who lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan.