Craig van Rooyen, a finalist in Narrative’s Sixteenth and Eighth Annual Poetry Contests, is also a recipient of the Rattle Poetry Prize. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, he earned a BA in journalism from Andrews University in Michigan and an MFA from Pacific University.

Reasons to Go On

by Craig van Rooyen
New Year’s Day, 2024
after Ocean Vuong


Because the stream’s awake
             and it’s making the sound of a thing
doing the only thing it can.


Because the glass Christmas balls
             must come down
             from the reaches of the silk floss tree,
my head among planets.
People on couch
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