JOAN:ARC
by
Preston Smith
Preston Smith (he/him) holds an MA in English literature, and he writes poetry and fiction. He can be found on Twitter and Instagram @psm_writes talking about baking and fairy tales. His work appears in Fairy Tale Review, Tilde, and Perhappened, among others, and his website is psmwrites.com.
from JOAN:ARC
Vernal French Hymnal
While she inhabits the world, so does
the Holy Roman Empire
Songs from the Aether: a collective
conscious
She curates memory, bootsteps
on crass cobblestone
The way fingers loop around teacups,
cold but held
Tight in her throat: birdsong, rasp
one hundred years
Fleur de lys growing in manmade cracks,
margins with names
In the docks, a city of nymphs
befriend her horse
To get close to her, check margins
for empires and dynasties
A song is a name is an archive,
outlives the corporeal
