Bury the Lede

I know the world can be a thief of joy...

Collage by Matt Layne

Bury the Lede

God shuffles in the dark.
She deals our cards 
by chance, by fire: 
here a daughter, there a son. 
Summer bears another one.
Distant city sirens mingle
with songs of cardinal and Carolina wren. 
A labrador barks 
from one impossible bird to another. 
A bee blossom-bumbles 
from azalea to dogwood, honeysuckle, home.
And this beer: 
so delicious, so brown, so cold. 

My pocket buzzes with headline 
after vicious headline: 

     ICE Agents Flood US Streets
     School Bombed by American Missile
     A Whole Civilization Will Die Tonight
     Epsteins All the Way Down

It is April.
We drive to where blue fireflies ghost 
the Cahaba River at dusk.
Unfazed by the violence of headlights, 
a doe clacks off the asphalt in her own time.
Deep in the woods, darkness becomes a warm bath,
blue diamond flecks glim in knee-high constellations. 

I know the world can be a thief of joy.
I wish quiet comforts for you:
persistent sparkles in your night,
wooded walks to be savored,
a warm cup in your hand
and someone who loves you nearby.

---

Matt writes…

It seems like almost every single day there is some new horror, trauma, heartbreak buzzing across the screen of my phone. It's on the radio. It's on the television. It's on our computers. I'm not one to bury my head in the sand. I believe in standing up and speaking up, but Lord, I need some quiet, too. I need the sound of the river, the cry of a hawk, the sparkle of a lightning bug in the early evening, and even more than all of those, I need community. I need the comfort of other human beings who are experiencing the now of this world but still take time to notice the way a spider's legs work its web just so. I hope in all of this turmoil, you are able to find some of those moments as well. I hope you have someone who can take your hand in theirs when you most need it. I hope your flowers blossom and bloom and your herbs are plentiful and fragrant. I hope you take the time to have a cup of tea and to write for us what you think of it all.

---

Poet, librarian, raconteur; Matt Layne has been poking hornet’s nests and looking under rocks for lizards and snakes since he was knee-high to a peanut peg. His debut multimedia poetry collection, Miracle Strip, had been awarded the 2025 Alabama Author Award for Poetry and was named the 2024 Book of the Year by the Alabama State Poetry Society. Order your copy today.

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