In the niched cosmos of the church wall,
Christ’s palms, painted vermillion,
metamorphose—
in wood and tempera
he holds whole the lead-white
thorns and false roses.

Valerie Wohlfeld’s most recent book of poetry is Woman with Wing Removed (Truman State University Press). Her first collection, Thinking the World Visible, won the Yale Younger Poets Prize. Her poems have been nominated six times for a Pushcart Prize.

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Published in the October 21, 2016 issue: View Contents

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