November Poem of the Month – Bethsheba A. Rem

Sun Dial

Remember your Gods, Nike and Aramid.
Call on them when the voices are too loud.
Find a corner. Raise your hands. Kneel and pray.
Summon the discipline of your mother,
the muscle of your father, and relax.
Speak directly in the ear of your Lord
and confess your premeditated blunders.
The women will be tempting, O, I know.
Sweets and sugars will be offered on plates
of gold. Careful they are not laced with lye
or hallucinogens; jealousy owns
a vast wardrobe. Buttons will be shiny.
When a stranger appears offering ad-
vice, ask them to first remove their fur coat.

Bethsheba A. Rem is the author of her first poetry collection From Foster Care to Fame; she has been published in several anthologies including Home Girls Make Some Noise, which garnered a NAACP Image Award Nomination. She has benefited from the Virginia Independent Writer’s Fellowship and has been Poet in Residence at the University of Illinois, Champagne Urbana. She is currently an MFA Creative Writing Candidate at Antioch University in LA. www.facebook.com/thequeensheba8

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