Urbanite

By Faith Thompson

It is no secret,      sidewalk-strider,

that all are      not aligned, like you,

with cement,      sharp skies

and high homes.      How have you

shape-shifted      your self

from a growing thing,      a green-garden-going thing

to this, all angles?      Mad architect of

yourself—cold,      creaking, constructed.

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Faith Thompson’s work has been published in many journals, including The Lyric, Mezzo Cammin, The Measure Review, and The Orchard Poetry Journal. She is the 2022 recipient of the Lyric Prize and the Leslie Mellichamp Prize. She received her MFA at Georgia College & State University. Her first poetry collection, Harmony & Counterpoint, is available from Kelsay Books. She teaches at Point Park University and Westmoreland County Community College, and lives with her husband in Blairsville, Pennsylvania. You can find her work at fairingforward.wordpress.com.