Poetry by Michael Alcée

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We’re just pigs
to think you green,
standing still,
suppliant,

when you turn
the world — nitrogen,
nutrify, the clock
always set.

We only notice
when you leave:
vermillion, ochre,
aurora falling.

Van Gogh knew
the price of yellow:
“a color capable
of charming God.”

Light to light,
rooted in earth.

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Michael Alcée’s work has appeared in Aphor, Black Iris, Eunoia Review, and Lines + Stars, and is forthcoming in Inflectionist Review and Panorama, among others. In addition to being a poet, he is a psychologist and author of Therapeutic Improvisation (Norton, 2022) and The Upside of OCD (Rowman & Littlefield, 2024).

Photo by Akshika Singh on Unsplash