Ariana D. Den Bleyker

Here Is Where I Wish to Stay

I understand the secret language
of tender roots, dark waters


& burning waves, the path of stars sculpting
the geography of countries I’ve never seen,


knowing the best of me has learned
to expel time from the country of my body.

Ariana D. Den Bleyker is a Pittsburgh native currently residing in New York’s Hudson Valley, where she is a wife and mother of two. When she’s not writing, she’s spending time with her family and every once in a while sleeps. She is the author of three collections and twenty chapbooks. She is the founder and publisher of ELJ Editions, Ltd., a 501(c)3 literary nonprofit.