a pantoum after In The Distance by Andrea Kowch
The woman’s Medusa hair stands up on her head in ringlets
Though not electrified by the sudden backyard’s lightning
Her men battle their way furiously through bending wheat
Golden braids sway in waves eager for the kiss of the scythe
Though not electrified by the sudden backyard’s lightning
Her men battle their way furiously through bending wheat
Golden braids sway in waves eager for the kiss of the scythe
Though not electrified by the sudden backyard’s lightning
She kneads, stretches and folds the dough like an automaton
Golden braids sway in waves eager for the kiss of the scythe
While they fulfill their wish to be the Sisyphus of the field
The cat’s calls remain unheard as he shrieks at the sight of the felled tree
She kneads, stretches and folds the dough like an automaton
In defiance, she will only use packaged flour from the store
While they fulfill their wish to be the Sisyphus of the field
The smell coming out of the pyre-like oven seals the sacrifice
In defiance, she will only use packaged flour from the store
They live in parallel universes rubbing against each other’s bubble
The smell coming out of the pyre-like oven seals the sacrifice
Or is everyone about to explode in spontaneous combustion?
Only the cat hears their unuttered words: will anyone listen to his warnings?
Hedy Habra’s third poetry collection, The Taste of the Earth, won the 2020 Silver Nautilus Award, Honorable Mention for the Eric Hoffer Book Awards, and was finalist for the USA Best Book Award. Tea in Heliopolis won the USA Best Book Award and Under Brushstrokes was finalist for the International Book Award. Her story collection, Flying Carpets, won the Arab American Book Award’s Honorable Mention. She is a seventeen-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. hedyhabra.com
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