Unclouded third eye and lush
red wings. I'm pouring water
from cup to cup.

This is the water we are meant
to drink with the other animals.
There are daffodils by the water,

a road leading from the water
to the shining crown of the sun.
My white hospital gown-

off-the-rack and totally sane
My foot unsteady, though,
heel held aloft, missing its stiletto.

Nine months sober emblazoned
on my flat chest in red
below girlish curls and mannish chin.

You can't see my eyes.
You've never seen them.

About this poem
"'Thirst' was written with Brenda Shaughnessy's and Megin Jimenez's Arcana poems on my mind. I drew 'Temperance' from a Tarot deck and this poem was born."
-Laura Cronk

About Laura Cronk
Laura Cronk is the author of "Having Been an Accomplice" (Persea Books, 2012). She coordinates the undergraduate writing curriculum at The New School and lives in Jersey City, N.J.


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The Academy of American Poets is a nonprofit, mission-driven organization, whose aim is to make poetry available to a wider audience. Email The Academy at poem-a-day[at]poets.org.


(c) 2015 Laura Cronk. Originally published by the Academy of American Poets, www.poets.org. Distributed by King Features Syndicate