Breast
It was in some obscure motel room, cheap, and I was young. But there it
was, luminous orb falling from my mother’s bra as she changed clothes in
close quarters. I had no memory of infant days—swell of milk, suckle of
nipple—no glimpse of the days yet to come. All I knew, in one moment,
was how it begins: the shape of loss, its sweet curve.
The Second Coming
The old-timer—two missing front teeth—leans into the field, whistles
loudly for his horse, calling his name Jesus! Jesus! over and over till the
aging stallion appears, trots toward the red apple in his hand. All these
years—wild prayers to a hidden god—and this simple secret of ripe fruit,
its scent, calling.
Eros Finds A Way
Centuries ago, Muslims came to Hindu India. Suspicious of sexuality,
they divided mind from body, the sensual from the metaphysical.
Somehow, the long Indian tradition of Eros was not disturbed. Inspired
by the Kamasutra, Muslim weavers shed their heavy black burkas,
created delicate fabrics of translucent magenta, pale pink. Lovers would
step into baft hawa, woven air; ab-e-rawan, running water; shabnam,
evening dew. The weavers, secret mystics clothing this body with light.
Dane Cervine’s recent books include Earth Is a Fickle Dancer (Main Street Rag), and The Gateless Gate – Polishing the Moon Sword, from Saddle Road Press in Hawaii, a cross-genre work of Zen koan & prose poems. Previous poetry books include Kung Fu of the Dark Father, How Therapists Dance, The Jeweled Net of Indra, and What a Father Dreams. Dane’s poems have won awards from Adrienne Rich, Tony Hoagland, the Atlanta Review, Caesura, and been nominated for a Pushcart. His work appears in The SUN, the Hudson Review, TriQuarterly, Poetry Flash, Catamaran, Miramar, Rattle, Sycamore Review, Pedestal Magazine, among others. Visit his website at: https://danecervine.typepad.com/
The poems in this selection are part of a new manuscript of prose poems entitled The World Is God’s Language, to be published by Sixteen Rivers Press in 2021.
It was in some obscure motel room, cheap, and I was young. But there it
was, luminous orb falling from my mother’s bra as she changed clothes in
close quarters. I had no memory of infant days—swell of milk, suckle of
nipple—no glimpse of the days yet to come. All I knew, in one moment,
was how it begins: the shape of loss, its sweet curve.
The Second Coming
The old-timer—two missing front teeth—leans into the field, whistles
loudly for his horse, calling his name Jesus! Jesus! over and over till the
aging stallion appears, trots toward the red apple in his hand. All these
years—wild prayers to a hidden god—and this simple secret of ripe fruit,
its scent, calling.
Eros Finds A Way
Centuries ago, Muslims came to Hindu India. Suspicious of sexuality,
they divided mind from body, the sensual from the metaphysical.
Somehow, the long Indian tradition of Eros was not disturbed. Inspired
by the Kamasutra, Muslim weavers shed their heavy black burkas,
created delicate fabrics of translucent magenta, pale pink. Lovers would
step into baft hawa, woven air; ab-e-rawan, running water; shabnam,
evening dew. The weavers, secret mystics clothing this body with light.
Dane Cervine’s recent books include Earth Is a Fickle Dancer (Main Street Rag), and The Gateless Gate – Polishing the Moon Sword, from Saddle Road Press in Hawaii, a cross-genre work of Zen koan & prose poems. Previous poetry books include Kung Fu of the Dark Father, How Therapists Dance, The Jeweled Net of Indra, and What a Father Dreams. Dane’s poems have won awards from Adrienne Rich, Tony Hoagland, the Atlanta Review, Caesura, and been nominated for a Pushcart. His work appears in The SUN, the Hudson Review, TriQuarterly, Poetry Flash, Catamaran, Miramar, Rattle, Sycamore Review, Pedestal Magazine, among others. Visit his website at: https://danecervine.typepad.com/
The poems in this selection are part of a new manuscript of prose poems entitled The World Is God’s Language, to be published by Sixteen Rivers Press in 2021.
