Archive of New Mexico Poetry – Julie Dunlop

Muse

She stands before you–
a woman with flames
where her eyes should be.
You ask her who she is
but she keeps on singing,
her voice clear
as cold water.
Can she even see you
staring at her?
Her song shifts
but she does not move.
How could she move
the weathered bark
of her body, her toes
rooted down into the earth?
Her arms move in the wind
like ribbons. Words swim in her song–
your name flashes among them
like an orange fish.

About the Poet
Julie Dunlop is from Virginia and is at work on her Master’s in Creative Writing at the University of New Mexico.