Maria Marquez
JULY, 2024, MAN WITH NO SHELTER
The ground cracks
with the weight of summer,
the lakes drown in themselves
for relief.
So too your mind.
Heat-sick, you wander
the parks and gardens
with hand outreached.
Begging for succour
where there is none
has become as certain a necessity
as harvest once was in autumn.
Some ducks crowd around your feet,
begging for the crumbs of the crumbs
you begged to be given.
Maria Duran is an art historian and curator from Lisbon, Portugal. She writes poetry and prose, studies little known nineteenth-century painters, and is currently writing a chapbook. Her literary work has been published with Helvética Press, Gilbert & Hall Press, Black Moon Magazine, Erato Magazine, Third Iris Magazine, P'Arte and Vagabond City Magazine, among others. Her art work has been exhibited in digital exhibitions. Maria Duran (@m.mar.duran) • Instagram.