Issue Thirty-Eight - Summer 2021

Call to Wake

By Sarah Carlton

The crack of dawn is a dark rinse,
humidity descending, night lifting,
bird band rattling while the lead sings
a long note and the counterpoint chirps
witchy witchy witchy witchy witchy
and the one that hums in two tones
like a fingertip tracing the rim of a wineglass
circles the rainy scent of bromeliads
and moldering roots and the grumble
of garbage trucks three streets away
and the solo trolling from across the river
as the muezzin threads the air
with a call to prayer.

Copyright Carleton 2021

Sarah Carleton writes poetry, edits fiction, tutors English, plays the banjo, and makes her husband laugh in Tampa, Florida. Her poems have appeared in numerous publications, including Cider Press Review, Nimrod, Chattahoochee Review, Tar River Poetry, Crab Orchard Review, and New Ohio Review. Her first collection, Notes from the Girl Cave, was recently published by Kelsay Books.

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