Mantis 22 (Summer 2024)
Visceral; Velocities

Laine Derr


Mourning

My sadness

is a thin

layer of skin,

blinds opened

to the morning

sun, I fight its

shimmer, a hum

telling me it’s

not raining, but

I know it is,

lashes damp

w/ rays of dew.


LAINE DERR holds an MFA from Northern Arizona University and has published interviews with Carl Phillips, Ross Gay, Ted Kooser, and Robert Pinsky. Recent work has appeared or is forthcoming from J Journal, Full Bleed + The Phillips Collection, ZYZZYVA, Portland Review, Prairie Schooner, and elsewhere.