Great horned owls unscrew
their concentric
embedded notes, pinning
the morning in instruction
though the dark stays
in my mouth
and I pull a blanket further
around, tip it
against my cheek.
I have slept centered in firs.
On the seventh night,
women walk side
by side into nettles
to the hidden beach
whose hip jiggles up, lapping,
until sundown,
which each of us photographs.
When we walk back
it is into grasses
that spread to a long glow.
–
Lauren Camp is the author of nine books, including In Old Sky (Grand Canyon Conservancy, 2024), which grew out of her experience as Astronomer-in-Residence at Grand Canyon National Park, and Is Is Enough (Texas Review Press, 2026). She served as Poet Laureate of New Mexico from 2022-25.