CLARA BURGHELEA
In undergloom
Draw us family-style nibbling raspberry bodies,
all hue and scent, rustling of silk and tang against
the roof of the mouth. Fresh from the west corner
of the garden, seeds of spell crushed between teeth,
tongue swollen with longing. Last summer shadows,
smooth as milk-glass before lungs caught fire.
Find forward four empty seats, ghost breath soaring
like fresh kite. Sun, pulsating medusae limbs across
the left wall, terraformed footprints goodbying by inch.
Think sharp teeth at the end of a fork poking for the soft
edges of things. Buoyancy in the making.
Clara Burghelea is a Romanian-born poet with an MFA in Poetry from Adelphi University. Recipient of the Robert Muroff Poetry Award, her poems and translations appeared in Ambit, HeadStuff, Waxwing, The Cortland Review and elsewhere. Her collection The Flavor of The Other was published in 2020 with Dos Madres Press. She is the Translation/International Poetry Editor of The Blue Nib.
Art by Sofia Musa