Superstitious
Symbols and portents abound,
two pairs of quail, a sudden lack of owls.
Coyotes roam the river, and fields recline
with brown hands open.
In my dreams I try to get home,
whatever that means, all snarled airports
and trains delayed. I find myself
outside the bungalow on Ovalau,
in my pocket a shell, its pink sheen
smooth as the skin of my thighs.
In divination, direction matters.
East for childhood, west for death,
north for discovery, south for change.
Trees gesture acquiescence, and leaves
tremble in shades of green contingent
on some fleeting state of being:
contentment, fear, euphoria, hope.
The dog tries to join the coyotes’ song
but it’s no good faking what you’re not.
As I wait in tonight’s subway station
I count the tiles to derive divisibility,
hoping for that first prime number
even as breathing.
Linda Scheller is the author of two books of poetry, Wind & Children (Main Street Rag, 2022) and Fierce Light (FutureCycle Press, 2017) as well as a chapbook from Knoll Press, Halcyon. Her poetry and book reviews appear widely in publications including Colorado Review, Graveyard Zine, Sugar House Review, On the Seawall, and Gyroscope Review. Her website is lindascheller.com.
Symbols and portents abound,
two pairs of quail, a sudden lack of owls.
Coyotes roam the river, and fields recline
with brown hands open.
In my dreams I try to get home,
whatever that means, all snarled airports
and trains delayed. I find myself
outside the bungalow on Ovalau,
in my pocket a shell, its pink sheen
smooth as the skin of my thighs.
In divination, direction matters.
East for childhood, west for death,
north for discovery, south for change.
Trees gesture acquiescence, and leaves
tremble in shades of green contingent
on some fleeting state of being:
contentment, fear, euphoria, hope.
The dog tries to join the coyotes’ song
but it’s no good faking what you’re not.
As I wait in tonight’s subway station
I count the tiles to derive divisibility,
hoping for that first prime number
even as breathing.
Linda Scheller is the author of two books of poetry, Wind & Children (Main Street Rag, 2022) and Fierce Light (FutureCycle Press, 2017) as well as a chapbook from Knoll Press, Halcyon. Her poetry and book reviews appear widely in publications including Colorado Review, Graveyard Zine, Sugar House Review, On the Seawall, and Gyroscope Review. Her website is lindascheller.com.
