Michelangelo

The world does

not care

what lies along the edge

of the chisel or

upon the face

Of the hammer.

It sees only David there.

Before he was

were hunger,

envy, apathy, aggression—

Beggar,

lunatic, whore,

putrid cart of fishmonger.

Each a model for

his perfection.

Yale Series of Younger Poets Award and New Mexico Book Award for Poetry finalist professional editor Daril Bentley is a Writer’s Digest International Poetry Award Honorable Mention recipient and a Black Mountain Press The 64 Best Poets Series author. Editor of The Bentley Guide to Poets & Poetry in English (2019), his The Box (poems) released in 2021. He has published most recently in Better Than Starbucks, CircleShow, and The Lyric. He makes his home in Elmira, NY.