Shelter

by Mckenzie Baker

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i want to tell the moon I like her
how my nighttime is weightless and full 
of secret things I confess under her shelter

when she leaves they scatter
back into gutters and into the wind
above trees into my pockets

and right behind my ear
my cheeks and chest are so hot
in the dark can you feel her turning blood

to wine after sunset?
my old lady called me at sunrise
she wept and spoke warnings–

be afraid of things that tempt
and of things that taunt. Man, I wanted to
tell her about it, how you remind me

of God and how two things can be true at once

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Mckenzie Baker is a writer from Atlanta, GA. She likes doing things that most people do -- like eating good food and going to the movies. Her work has been featured in HuffPost and 3to4oz, the undergraduate literary magazine at Wake Forest. She occasionally posts on instagram at @kenziewritingthings.