Dragons Hidden in the Clouds, by Radiance Angelina Petro

Dragons Hidden in the Clouds
by
Radiance Angelina Petro

 

Rafters and ceiling beams collect all the sounds.
The day’s undercarriage somehow bypasses
the linguistic mind. In the morning mountains,

monks cut the stream to the quick and step
out, turning into deer. No matter how hard it tries,
the rabbit always draws the hawk’s attention.

Make the quick leap to escape the closing mind.
The trees pantomiming “go that way,” “no that way,”
are of little help, although stately.

Inasmuch as the unadorned day comes to wake
the garden’s sleepy audience, it also sees
to the downward movement of the stars.

The eye at the center of the door has closed. Let’s talk
about our failures—crying, then laughing.
There are dragons hidden in the clouds.

 

 

 

 


 


Make Up Your Mind from the Beginning, by Radiance Angelina Petro

Make Up Your Mind from the Beginning
by
Radiance Angelina Petro

 

Make up your mind from the beginning.
Emptiness leaps from heart to heart.
The day is fumbling with its papers.
Death’s long seeking shadow full
of tigers and iron rises over the frozen lake.

Take the first step and the starting point disappears.
Practice wonderful things.
The avocado on the counter has ripened.
The golden carp is out of the net.
The day is raining flowers.

Stop doddering around the house, and go
topsy turvy out the door—it’s OK.
There are cicada screams trapped in rocks
that need to be set free. With one clap
of thunder the storm is gone.

 

 

 

 


 


Calling Up the Bones, by Radiance Angelina Petro

Calling Up the Bones
by
Radiance Angelina Petro

 

When we hear the bell inside where
will we go? When our lights start setting
bushels on fire, then what?

There’s nothing stopping us from having
a lie down under a tree. One day our self-care
will start the apocalypse.

River rats have tumbled the careful zen-
arrangements of rocks we made on the creek side.
Listen–I need to hear this as much as the next.

Why are we cutting the umbilical cords
to the dead? Orgies of violence are on the way.
We’re all going to need to ask for help.

Throw off the bushels. Let our larger than life
lights shine.  Before it’s too late–call up the bones
of the dead, and enflesh them with our wanting to live.

 

 

 


 



Maybe We’re Wrong, by Radiance Angelina Petro

Maybe We’re Wrong
by
Radiance Angelina Petro

 

Seen in the light of angels, we are all
children touching time, quibbling, like
birds on a wire, quibbling, like
birds flying loose in the world.

Sure, we build bridges, and fine,
oak tables. We tell decent stories.
We also explode our differences
loose into the world, killing without thought.

Angels wonder why on earth we’re here.
Ultimately, we mean little to the galaxy’s dance.
They whisper in their feathery circles
consulting the Destroying Angel.

But when the unaccustomed burst
of sonority comes from the young
violin player, those very same angels think:
“Maybe we’re wrong.”

 

 

 

 


 


When You Return, By Radiance Angelina Petro

When You Return
By
Radiance Angelina Petro

 

The moon conducts the orchestra
of the waves. Scales of fish contain petals
of the sun. Moths slip the gravity of their longing,
and their wings catch fire. Wind lifts and spins dusty
leaves in the corners of abandoned schools.
The child finger-paints circle after circle.
Deer move together, leaving no hoof prints in the grass.
All creation wheels around the sun of its desire.
When you return, the world will still be dancing.

 

 

 

 


 


Feather-Touch, by Jennifer Angelina Petro

Feather-Touch
By
Jennifer Angelina Petro

 

Trapped in seasons of sadness,
I know my longing lacks solvency.
Each new desire rivets the chains
I drag along. With a feather-touch
you could break them should I only
lift them before you. When that day finally
comes, the chains will fall—easy, like
drapery, into something approaching
a circle at my feet, and I will not look back,
as I step from the rusted roundel,
and stumble into your arms.

 

 

 

 


 


The Sweetness of Being Found, by Jennifer Angelina Petro

The Sweetness of Being Found
by
Jennifer Angelina Petro

 

Try not to sleep against the day.
The living awakening
finds you with the light
he carries in his pockets.
Do as he says. The unavoidable
storm of his longing for you
will shake the foundations of your life.
But when all is said and done,
you will bask in the eternity
of the sweetness of being found.

 

 

 


 



There is Little Doubt a Brand New, Altogether, Extremely Valuable Silence Is Needed, By Radiance Angelina Petro

There is Little Doubt a Brand New, Altogether,
Extremely Valuable Silence Is Needed
By
Radiance Angelina Petro

 

There is little doubt a brand new, altogether
extremely valuable silence is needed.
The old one is damaged beyond repair.

In the meantime, mix the new
and what’s left of the old to the point
of breakdown. You can feather-edge this

repair without worry anything will chip.
Gradually stir the sounds into silence,
then slowly spread the mixture over your body.

Make sure to do this while floating a little
above your bed. This will help you enjoy the sinking
and settling down as much as possible.