Illuminated/ poem by Becky Wilklow

 
 The light flashes on the bird's wing 
Like a steel drum twang

It is a pulling
An aching
Like a magnet in your chest is flipped and connects to something

the bird's bodies dance and dip like they're swimming
I can see the movement of the air
The rises and falls
Like breath

The radio sound waves and crashes
It peaks and falls. It swirls and pulls you under.

The magnet is my connection to the tide of myself. I feel my rise and fall. 
I slam down like a tidal wave.

I feel this moment of crescendo
It's a typical Wednesday afternoon drive into work. 
It's a monument within a 9-5.

These moments of grandeur are my buoys among the monotony of my ocean. 
It's a moment to pan away and get pulled back in.

The light flashes on a bird's wing 
Like a steel drum twang

It's bright on black
And deep soulful beauty

It's like the wails inside my chest
They echo the pain and pang of connection

The light flashes on the bird's wing 
And for a moment
I feel like I'm illuminated


////////

Becky Wilklow-Marnell is born and raised on an apple farm in the Hudson Valley. She studied creative writing at Naropa University and finished her degree at SUNY New Paltz in 2009. She runs her family's farm stand, she's a mother of two humans (3 dogs, 2 cats, and too many chickens), a food truck boss, and the founder of Orchard Discos. Poetry is her eternal perspective, her escape, and her lifeline.

			

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