“Gathering” and “night swim after matrimony”
by Dallas Raquel Klein
“Gathering”
“night swim after matrimony”
for Richard Anderson and Christopher Ryan Shaver on their wedding day
fireflies birth night light and I invite the river to swim
through my fingers through my t-shirt through the white light between us
the full moon breathes our wedding vows back to us
cicadas, cicadas, cicadas
our bond completes the moon cycle this midnight rose moon ignites our lips with laughter
god, it is good to be a witch
river corridor becomes dance hall spinning
it has always been my honor but this moment with you
is a phosphorescent river song
earth illuminated

Dallas Raquel Klein is a native Tejana living in the Pacific Northwest. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Texas State University. Her work is featured in The Banyan Review, Ice Colonies, Angles, Plants & Poetry’s, Plant People, and is forthcoming in Porkbelly’s Love Me, Love My Body.