Sunday 21 November 2021

Five Poems by Carrie Radna

 



Insomnia

 

 

my brain buzzes like a mosquito; 

bladder’s full of water 

at 5 am— 

 

just give me the weight of the heavens, 

seeing the curvature of the Earth  

as my eyes close again— 

 

the stars continue to wink 

without provocation, 

(but I don’t see them) 

& light outside  

is a heavy aquamarine— 

 

I try to reach for you 

on the other side of the bed, 

but you are already 

under the ocean— 

 

please let me sleep again. 

radical thoughts of expiration  

are buzzing—quiet them all! 

let’s inhale—exhale;  

swat them away 

 

until everything shuts off 

in the almost-waking world— 

snoring deep again 

 

sun peeks through  

the apartment buildings,  

I miss it  

until noon 

 

a drone helicopter  

darts by the window— 

or, was it a dream? 

 

 

 

How we love


I gave you my heart,

but you only showed me

the best parts of you,

 

so when you broke down,

bringing forth the ugly,

I didn’t know what to do—

 

You thought you would lose me

if I knew everything about you,

 

but after the first Great Disaster,

no longer the Master of your own design—

this desert girl is now surrounded by water,

 

all was so green. I’ve changed too

& have adapted to all your moods,

the woolly woods & the sparse meadows,

 

the rivers almost empty due to drought.

But you became used to my intense feelings,

how sometimes I turn deadly quiet,

 

& then the grounds shook violently with my anger.

I am not perfect—you put me on a pedestal

when our love was new. My tears grew

 

a substantial fountain. Finally, you

came out of your bubble, & took me

down, dried me off, & held me

for a while. We held each other—

 

I see you. You see me.

We are not perfect,

but it’s a great love.



Morning gold

 

Eastside swayed heavy, like a lead top.

We are blinded by the glare

of skyscrapers still being born;

traffic does little justice each morning.

 

As the driver silently listened to

Sonido Suave from Santo Domingo,

we raced towards the sun,

as if we were smuggling gold.



Yellow (A Ghazal)

 

“Look at the stars … & they were all yellow …”

“I hate it when the singer whines,” you complained out loud.

 

“Did you know, Love, that “Yellow”

was a throwaway title? It doesn’t mean anything …”

 

except perhaps summer suns, bananas & lemons. Yellow

was my best friend’s favorite color.

 

She was born in the summer, first wearing yellow-

tinged jaundiced skin. She grew up tall

 

as perennial sunflowers, her hair was like yellow

corn curly-silk. She was full of love & compassion

 

& she loved Coldplay. Her baby pictures are now turning yellow—

& she belongs to the starry skies; we miss her terribly.



Panorama  

 

Catching your eyes 

before I crossed the panorama, 

I wish we were in  

a smaller room, 

so I can get closer to you, 

 

but the outside  

resembles a garden 

from the Home Counties 

of England, 

& the sun is melting 

into streaks of pink & gold. 

 

It was so beautiful, 

like your teal sleeveless dress; 

all the men couldn’t stop staring 

at you, as you crossed into the atrium.  

 

Maybe in the next universe 

we’ll be together—when the blooms 

turn to seed, when the green 

turns to copper, when the other boys 

have left the party  

with their chosen partners. 

 

I would have taken your hand, 

we would had crossed the promenade 

outside the panorama, 

& we would escape the garden, 

going deep into the lit night.


Carrie Magness Radna is an audiovisual cataloger at the New York Public Library, a choral singer and a poet who loves to travel. Her poems have previously appeared in The Oracular Tree, Mediterranean Poetry, Muddy River Poetry Review, Poetry Super Highway, Shot Glass Journal, Vita Brevis, Home Planet News, Cajun Mutt Press, Walt’s Corner, Polarity eMagazine, The Poetic Bond (VIII-X), Alien Buddha PressJerry Jazz Musician, Rye Whiskey Review and First Literary Review-East. Her poetry collections: Hurricanes never apologize (Luchador Press) was published in December 2019, and In the blue hour (Nirala Publications), was recently published in February 2021. Born in Norman, Oklahoma, she now lives with her husband in Manhattan, New York. https://carriemagnessradna.com

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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