Standing squarely on rip-
rap that juts out into Ontario,
like a shaft of a house key
unlocking robust waves
into a spray of silver—
glittering in its arc
that rains upon us
like pure joy.
A moment where
we look up through
the cold air’s brightness
and see the distance
to another country
cloud over with gulls.
We know how
to read this passage
without words.
M.J. Iuppa is the Director of the Visual and Performing Arts Minor Program and Lecturer in Creative Writing at St. John Fisher College; and since 2000 to present, is a part time lecturer in Creative Writing at The College at Brockport. Since 1986, she has been a teaching artist, working with students, K-12, in Rochester, NY, and surrounding area. Most recently, she was awarded the New York State Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching, 2017. She has four full length poetry collections,This Thirst (Kelsay Books, 2017), Small Worlds Floating (2016) as well as Within Reach (2010) both from Cherry Grove Collections; Night Traveler (Foothills Publishing, 2003); and 5 chapbooks. She lives on a small farm in Hamlin NY.