From the corner of my eye
to my left
a holy Jane
rocking wildly
mouthing what?
prayers, chants?
white granny hair flying out of order
white streaming eyes
some disembark
some board
the doors seal and then unseal
for a woman
lunges at us
nimble though plump
maybe years ago she led
a netball team
and today her captain’s voice
rich Island
‘Jesus
‘God
‘the conductor is a good man
‘bless this man’
We all know that benediction
the conductor’s hands
on your brow
holding the journey
for one slacker
for you
The train’s racket crescendos
ahead of Franklin avenue
I stand to embrace the pole
hostile my back against the rocking woman
a woman’s cry
‘she’s having a seizure’
turns us to look mute
at the eyes
fluttering
in deep sleep
in a night terror
fists pressed tight
containing the djinn spitting within
The captain flies
crouches before the sick woman
hands grab hands
face presses face
‘I’m a nurse how do you feel?’
the rocking cannot stop
but the eyes
for a second
open
to nurse
she says
‘Bad’
A second caregiver comes
and in a beautiful
sync
together lift the sick woman’s feet
and lay her on her back
doors open
for the rush
to the conductor’s window
end this journey
paramedics
seizure
nurse and carriage
I walk
climb
escalate
ascend
to the street
where it is not safe
2. Is it Safe?
The doors stay shut at 168th
Where haven’t I been today
BX
BK
LIC
uptown again
going home
getting close
we smell the smoke
see it seep through the vents
a little girl
adolescent is the first to scream
climbs up
pushes on
pulls down
bodies
a Mom’s voice
arrests her flight
‘That’s enough now
‘the smoke’s outside
‘calm down’
The firemen on the platform
are slow and easy
we are holding our phones
but nobody documents our last moment
Mom says
‘Cover your mouths with your scarf’
and some of us do
I smell my body’s
wet soil
under
eau de parfum
and I am heady
entering my cave
hot mouth
in my shirt
we move on
cutting through fog
towards someplace
safe
The time is now – Poetry prompt (Poets and Writers)
“They are everywhere–those sunflowers with the coal heart center,” Eve Alexandra muses in her poem “Botanica.” A symbol of loyalty and longevity, sunflowers are considered among the happiest of flowers, and provide energy in both nourishment and vibrancy. Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, and Gustav Klimt famously represented these flowers in works of art, and they have cropped up in poems by William Blake and Allen Ginsberg. This week, incorporate sunflowers into a poem. Consider their bright yellow coloring, their sturdy stalks, and their delicious seeds.
Sunflowers
Monster
all head
mammoth
homunculus
charred face
under crude yellow crown
razor sharp body
grabbing at rays
as if not black enough
lubing seeds with oily moisture
copulating
populating
endless field
-CSM