Dérive
by Robyn Lear
Holding the atlas open,
“Point to those who are most lost...”
touch Georgia north of Atlanta,
where the snakes circle around
seven cigarettes burning,
Holding the atlas open,
“Point to those who are unburied...”
trace Tennessee where waterfalls
crawl over stones and flow uphill
trying to touch time unmoved.
Holding the atlas open,
“Point to where you were born...”
turn the book over and draw clouds,
while the pen makes words that define
nothing but create worlds, the air cools,
and the lights pulse.
“These maps don’t
venture beyond the
explored, let’s go
anywhere without
histories already
haunted.”
About the Author
Robyn Leigh Lear was born to the world, but she claims no country. Her soul dances through the North Carolina hills, her heart beats for the history of Savannah, GA, but her eyes look longingly toward deep, unexplored corners of the Southern landscape. Her writing is a combination of chaos and searching, and perhaps her history reflects this lack of direction. She is the creative dreamer behind Authors and Artists: The Regenerates, a writing and art collective that attempts to better understand the two mediums. Robyn is the Creative Director and “resident dreamer” for April Gloaming Publishing, working closely with authors and artists to help them bring their dreams from the background into reality. She is currently an MFA candidate in poetry at the University of the South, and her poetry was recently selected for the Kindling Arts Festival wherein a short film was made from her poem, appeared on the WXNA radio program, “A Crack in Everything” with Lauren Turner, and can be found at Wild Roof Journal, Belmont, among others.