Even Anne Lister Is In My Blood Marrying Ann Walker
in Holy Trinity— its English Easter weather
full of feathery clouds— heavy dampness, sunshine
carrying the morning but doing nothing for the heat
The border of rain hasn’t budged— sunshine will hold the afternoon —
cede the ground to memory when night brings about storm
It is a lie to say there is a single path Follow the road if coin allows
— jump the fence —exchange vows under the murmur of god
before a storm If love destroys the state
was it a state to begin with or a fist
disguised as a man banging away on a table? I feel Anne and Ann hand in hand
— communion wine sweeter on Easter —sweeter still later and later
—feel their hand in laughter’s laughter —happiness weather
Cassandra Whitaker (she/they) is an educator, grant writer, and arts organizer. Whit’s work has been published in Conjunctions, Michigan Quarterly Review, The Bennington Review, Gulf Coast, Foglifter, and Lambda Literary Review, among others. A full-length poetry collection, Wolf Devouring A Wolf Devouring A Wolf, will be released in 2025 from Jackleg Press. She is a National Book Critics Circle member and lives in Virginia with their family.