Cindy Rinne: "Lucky" (poem)

Cindy Rinne (fiberverse.com); Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Listen to the Codex (Yak Press/Cindy Rinne, photograph by Wendy Sue Hunt)

.

“LUCKY”

He says everything is alive --
shells, buildings, people, fish, mountains, trees.
- Hokusai

She squatted on the ground
with a magnifying glass.
For a small donation,
she plucked a genuine talisman.
                       Her face blurred.
                       Body -- misty outline,
                       hidden from her betrayed lover.
Road, sky, and river simplified
under a full moon. Inside her home,
the ceiling cracked. Aftershocks
from seismic waves.
Spirit house swayed.
                        Invisible as a fresco.
                        Her front on one wall.
                        Back on another.
Basil, lemongrass, and lotus seed
spread upon the raised floor. She tasted
their scent safe from harm.
Every day the self-healing robot prayed
over the charms
between Maharat Road
and the river. A lotus
of amulet petals rested --
                       faceless Buddha sat
                       cross-legged upon
                       a layered plinth,
a small fish bone embedded
in the back of each one.

© Cindy Rinne from the 2017 collection Listen to the Codex (Yak Press)

Yak Press presents Listen to the Codex book launch:

• Skylight Books
• Sunday, July 23, 5:30 pm
• 1818 N. Vermont Ave.
• Los Angeles, CA 90027

CINDY RINNE creates art and writes in San Bernardino, California. She is the author of the books, Listen to the Codex (Yak Press) and Breathe In Daisy, Breathe Out Stones (FutureCycle Press), and a founding member of PoetrIE, a literary community as well as a finalist for the prestigious 2016 Hillary Gravendyk Prize (Inlandia Institute). Her poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in: Birds Piled Loosely, CircleShow, Home Planet News, Outlook Springs, The Wild Word (Berlin), Storyscape Journal, Cholla Needles, and other platforms.