DEPARTURE/ARRIVAL by Saquina Karla C. Guiam

I.

The distance between

the Fortress and the General's city

is two decades worth

of crushed flower petals

dipped in red, salt and sour milk,

too many nights without stars

and my shadow fading

into almost nothing.

II.

There are many voices

rising and falling,

wanting to reach out

for the daughter of three tongues;

the words have been

dead for years.

I wonder if they are aware

of an el niño always present

in the makeshift house of their cousin,

their niece, their aunt, me.

---

SAQUINA KARLA C. GUIAM is a Best of the Net-nominated poet. On occasion, she writes prose. Her work has appeared on Glass: A Journal of Poetry, The Maine Review, Outlook Springs, Djed Press, Geoliterary, and others. She is the Roots nonfiction editor at Rambutan Literary and an editor for Umbel & Panicle. Her first micro-chapbook, Skysea, was part of Ghost City Press' 2017 Summer Chapbook Series.

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