Memorie’s Intrusion
Imperceptibly small, this shard of glass that takes shelter in my fingertip, begs to be scratched, soaked; to take
the throne in this velvet day. It robs charm from squirrels who tangle in whirl of black and gray yin and yang; I barely notice. I miss delight in birdsongs,
sunlit moss, cats. Remembering you here is like that — a thief, a tether, a broken music box that double dog dares
my chaotic heart to pit-a-pat faster. I look to the glove you threw down for a moment. That’s all it takes to miss the take-off of the sparrow.
Stars Bend Light, Erase Habit of Devotion
An injurious name persists calling out from innocent places. Whispered too long it turns stranglehold to the future, forked in rocks and wings.
Deceit is impalpable, not impossible. It grows like weeds in collusion with desire and hope. A place of light may save from harm, if it embodies enough facets.
Oh Stars, be my falling and catch me. Ante up erasures (unname, reframe), stash memory away, until weak, collapsed, exploded or cooled in any of your spaces.
-tuck behind backlit clouds -throw into Betelgeuse to burn -sink beneath swimming sparkles in dome-skied Tennessee -cover in oil swirls of dots and pentagons that fuel wind and long-necks -bury past upward gaze from car hood in boosy Florida cemetery -drown below your reflection in the river -fold into the silver side of a two-toned sequin shirt
A lie no longer the shortest distance between two points; assent no longer my lingering folly. We rewrite futures, the Stars and I, rehab thoughts. Even after rainy nights, I awake to starlight.
Writer, poet, songwriter, teacher, Kristin Kowalski Ferragut lives with her two spirited children in Maryland where she plays guitar, rides her bike, vacillates between shunning and trying to keep up with technology, and hosts the DiVerse Gaithersburg Poetry Reading and Open Mic. She is author of the full-length poetry collection Escape Velocity (Kelsay Books, 2021) and the children’s book Becoming the Enchantress: A Magical Transgender Tale (Loving Healing Press, 2021). Her poetry has appeared in Beltway Quarterly, Nightingale and Sparrow, Bourgeon, Mojave He[Art] Review, Anti-Heroin Chic, Fledgling Rag, and Little Patuxent Review among others. More, including her blog, Poetry & Other Mystical Space, can be found at https://www.