For two nights we slept
as two people who were once
in love: our bodies
settled into one another,
our skin quiet. No quickening,
only habit, and sleep hard come.
Our first farewell, said
without knowing, drowned
by our delight, shared and singular,
in what surrounded us:
the otter smashing some meal
against the pilings;
the little red crabs
sweeping backward
under the boardwalk;
the line of pelicans
cutting low above the harbor.
Continental Drift Theory
Donika Kelly
Donika Kelly is the author of Bestiary (Graywolf 2016), winner of the Cave Canem Poetry Prize and longlisted for the National Book Award. She teaches at St. Bonaventure University.