Counting Swallows
Flight patterns
above this intersection
where two cities meet
announce that mosquitoes
have hatched this mid-May day.
There might be three,
or maybe a dozen swallows,
crossing the window frame
though never all at once,
and never simply left to right.
Instead their ellipses flatten,
loop, elongate into infinity signs,
calligraphy of hunger
against pale blue.
This poem has been published in Under Purple Skies. Ed. Frank Bures. Belt Publishing, 2019. All rights revert to authors.
Contando Golondrinas
Patrones de vuelo
encima de esta intersección
donde dos ciudades se encuentran
anunciando que los mosquitos
han salido del cascarón este día a mediados de mayo.
Puede haber tres
o tal vez una docena de golondrinas,
cruzando el marco de la ventana
aunque nunca todos a la vez,
y nunca simplemente de izquierda a derecha.
En cambio, sus elipses se aplanan,
Se repiten, se alargan en signos infinitos,
caligrafía del hambre
contra el azul pálido.
~ These poems were translated by Maria Lander Cabrere and Eileen LaFontaine. They were narrated by Maggie Gagliardi and Alejandra Camacho.
Morgan Grayce Willow has published three poetry collections, most recently Dodge & Scramble, as well as several chapbooks including the fine press limited edition Oddly Enough. An essayist also, Morgan received a Pushcart nomination for “(Un)Document(ing)” from Water~Stone Review #22. Morgan is a teaching artist with The Loft and COMPAS.