Mary Ann Samyn

Came and Went

The river was narrow there and not deep.
Crossing was actual, and felt good.

Wildflowers I had thought were many moods
were here all contentment.

I chose the tiny orange one; I wasn’t lost.

You could say the trees, the underbrush, the dust
called my name. 

Except there was no backstory; no trick.

I didn’t get turned around;
I didn’t think to pray.

Mary Ann Samyn is the author of six books of poetry, most recently Air, Light, Dust, Shadow, Distance, winner of the 2017 42 Miles Press Prize, and My Life in Heaven, winner of the 2012 FIELD Prize. She is a professor of English in the MFA Program at West Virginia University.