The Blue Earrings

To see the world in a sapphire

For months I’ve kept the universe in a box. It happens.

I get tired of infinity with its sapphire eyes

staring out at me from every mirror.

But today when I slip on all that sea, that sky,

everything immense seems a little

lighter, as if nature isn’t so in-your-face

endless after all — or maybe I’ve just gotten

used to the idea of this big flickering life

being so damn brief.

This poem was originally published in the micro-chapbook Endless After All (Origami Poems Project).

Lori Lamothe is the author of three poetry collections, Kirlian Effect, Trace Elements and Happily.