the dog is quiet

by Mildred Kiconco Barya

I want to dissolve 

into a raindrop that 

enters my mouth like 

my lover’s tongue, 

aching hunger 

swirling within, 

bringing me to tears.

Suddenly, the radiator 

comes on forcefully 

ejecting heat. Outside, 

pounding rain. The dog 

that normally barks at 

this hour is silent, as if 

aware that this moment 

does not need more din.

Mildred Kiconco Barya is a writer from Uganda now living in North Carolina. Her publications include three poetry books, as well as prose, hybrids, and poems published in Shenandoah, Joyland, The Cincinnati Review, Tin House, Prairie Schooner, and elsewhere. She is a board member of African Writers Trust and coordinates the Poetrio Reading events at Malaprop’s Independent Bookstore/Café. She teaches creative writing and literature at UNC-Asheville. The Animals of My Earth School is her fourth full-length poetry collection forthcoming from Terrapin Books, 2023. She blogs at: www.mildredbarya.com