[POETRY]

[01/16/26]

Nothing Is Hidden

Two Poems by Lili Newberry

Mother

So there I was, dragging 
my digital persona through the forest,
which today 

was all aspens. Like oh my god
how am I supposed to eat 
what I can't speak to. 

There is nothing 
in this world that can't talk back.
And you expect me 

to line my can with a fresh bag?
Separation is a fallacy. 
You know that. Can't a girl 

litter any more? Well anyway 
I heard screaming, bald young
raw screaming. I heard 

a hole. Like why are you 
in a hole, precious transparent youth?
Like do you want some food? 

I put my ear to the hole, which today
was a beak in a canal in an aspen. I
had to stand on a stump. 

I said I don't have any food, I have this
camera I've been dragging around,
yeah I know it's not 

a mouth, but what's the difference OK
really? A shadow is a shadow
is a mother is a grunt. Any kind 

of message blocks the sun. Eat up,
baby thing. There are sentences
to line up before nightfall.

Sanctuary

The AC rolls like gravel 
I slip a coin 
into the transmission 
thinking nobody would see 
but above me 
the barred owl 
rearranges her feathers—forked slips of paper
And inside the mouth 
A quiet like wool 
A hungry 
Unfillable cup 
A red string tied 
to the end of a red 
string. 
Every time I look back 
I look back 
to a different face. 

The reason that nothing is hidden 
is that there is no suggestion of silence. 

Could the watcher teach me 
to be reversible? A pouch 
of falling sand? The silver moon rattles in the sky
A wish / A hard dollar. 
What is the meaning 
of horse hair in the garden? 
Of rubber you can tear 
like bread? Talons push like needy tendrils
through my floorboards. 

No song is sad. 

Movement is a container
whirring with pleasure 
Many things breathe and eat
My machine is warmer 
than the creature in the tree
A jangle in my pocket 
like birdseed 

A lesson is of consequence. 

I pack my things and coax 
the engine awake.
There is no room
for me here—dust curdles 
and stirs in the street. 
It’s cold. I still 
have a number to call.