Wednesday Poem

in anticipation of summer solstice

after Uche Nduka

 all around me
the faces of deserts
riot
throw eyes
ignite roots
bloom  
envision

the fury of weightlessness
outlasts
the pull of glaciers—

the possibility of an empty dancehall
the memory of a flickering candle under siege

to be human in these aeons
is to open the palms
to each beauty
threatening the death driven...

keys
talismans
nectars & medicines

...all around me
my many faces open the doors
my rosary of thorns
my crown of insight

thoughts are light
thoughts are light

in this wild mind
all thoughts on their knees
with one hand to the heart
with one hand to the Earth

that i become the gold at the bed of the river
a mouth of mirrors 
siphoning salt from ocean floors

drink from my cup & throw my cup to the horizon

reflections, moments, tears of dust
birth me as i am & give birth too as you are

brother to a wayfaring vision
singing child of true north

send back gilded pasts send back the eyes askew
send back lucre send back greedy tongues send back uncurious hands
heed birdsong heed mandolin & cello heed the mystery 
unfold stillnesses unlock secret ghosts of the heart
untie the heart from the freezer door
heed possibility heed orbitals heed voices from nowhere
heed the moment's calling

everywhere your windows embark the unseen
everywhere beheaded statues cannot dance—

© 2022 Daniel Cyran

This poem was written after a reading of With a Swoop, via The Poetry Foundation: With a Swoop, by Uche Nduka