I etch your name in the night sky,
canopy of silver, stars.
Then, on the sun’s wings I ride,
dazzle lightly, compel you to rise.
When gloaming rose softens
the land and edges of the day,
I am here, on the cup at your lips,
the nightly prayer you say.
As canopied calm descends and
you drift under its spell again,
I etch your name in the night sky.
—
Nan Ottenritter has published chapbooks Eleanor, Speak (Finishing Line Press) and My Year 2023. She co-edited Discovery, Recovery: A Journey with Veterans (2023) and has been published in Artemis, Still Points Quarterly, Poetry Society of Virginia Anthologies, Dissent: an anthology to end war and capitalism (2023), and Writing the Land: Virginia (NatureCulture LLC). After her career in higher education, she can be found writing, fiddling, and enjoying the vibrant writing community in Richmond, VA.
