by Jen Karetnick

An American sentence acrostic

The largest of the smallest,

best in class for backwards flight,

flyswatter-hued throat—how

is such bustle even viable—vivid-

coated, a touch of brave

with a bit of bullshit, maybe

a symbol but might be a herald,

color-fast in rain, shies from

that which brings the wrong gaze or

bugs a perennial traveler,

can’t resist the neo-nectar, will never

take for granted the native license

in the art of levitation, hover,

and standstill.

A 2024 National Poetry Series finalist, Jen Karetnick is the author of 12 collections of poetry, including Inheritance with a High Error Rate (January 2024), the winner of the 2022 Cider Press Review Book Award. Forthcoming books include What Forges Us Steel: The Judge Judy Poems (Alternating Current Press, 2025) and Domiciliary (Sheila-Na-Gig Editions, 2026). See jkaretnick.com.