September 11, 2026
—
Originally published in Issue No. 14 of The Bitter Southerner Magazine
Shake it,
without moving,
out.
Planted, rooted, sit
utterly serene: as iris, as anemone,
shake it—
send it,
hard rain off crown, beard, skittering
out
past sight, past doubt.
Still in your withstanding, shimmery,
shake it,
silent-laugh it
off; see it shimmying
out
into far air—and you, lit
with nectar, in reverie,
shake it
out.
Anna Lena Phillips Bell is a poet, writer, teacher, editor, and printer. Bell is the author of Might Could, winner of the Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize, published in 2026 by Waywiser Books.