Poems by Donna Spruijt-Metz
The Going Out and the Coming In
——————after Psalm 121
In the early morning chill—I take
the dogs into the yard—my bathrobe
inadequate—it’s cold, the dogs
are slow—and then
a warmth comes—a sliver
of sunlight on my shoulder—
as if your hand—to keep me steady
on the morning steps.
The dogs look up in unison—stop
their restless reconnaissance—we
are in a thin place—but clouds are moving
to cover the sun—the portal
shimmers—fades—
the dogs snap back
to their business—but I
am stilled—aware of you—struck
by all that I cannot reach at will—only
unaware—only open and sleepy—
only when I slacken my hold
on my own guardrails—
seek those rare coordinates
where the distance collapses—
and venture—tenderfooted—towards
the going out
towards the coming in—
I Am the Heir Transparent
Everything that was yours—
I breathe in. I ask my friend
if that makes me seem insane—
to nuzzle your red jacket
every morning—
read your hiking diary (also red)—the one
I never would have touched
when you were alive.
My friend says I am your heir—
and this seems so much more elegant
than being your gutted
grieving widow, digging through
your things—looking
for you, or solace—One day,
when it’s my turn
and the ferry man
comes to row me across,
he’ll ask if I was angry
at your sudden death—
at the no warning of it.
I will say
I always loved you—
in a boneless chicken
kind of way—helpless
weak-kneed and floppy—I will say
that I love you still—
you—you in your mountains
—seated on a rock right below
the tree line—your hiking hat
pushed back on your brow a bit—
having found a fine old tree
giving it your full attention—sketching it
in the red journal.
Donna Spruijt-Metz’s second collection, ‘To Phrase a Prayer for Peace’, was published in March 2025 (Wildhouse Publishing). Her debut poetry collection is ‘General Release from the Beginning of the World’ (2023, Free Verse Editions). She is an emeritus psychology professor, MacDowell fellow, rabbinical school drop-out, and former classical flutist. Her chapbooks include ‘Slippery Surfaces’, ‘And Haunt the World’ (with Flower Conroy), and ‘Dear Ghost’ (winner, 2023 Harbor Review Editor’s prize). Her translation from the Dutch of Lucas Hirsch’s ‘Wu Wei Eats an Egg’ (Ben Yehuda press) and her full-length collaboration with Flower Conroy, ‘And Scuttle My Ballon’ (Picture Show Press) were both released in 2025. Her poems appear or are forthcoming in The Academy of American Poets, Tahoma Literary Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, The American Poetry Review, and elsewhere. https://www.donnasmetz.com
Table of Contents for Flaw and Favor