Ute Margaret Saine
(USA)
FOR DEAR LIFE
We are two goldfish
in water we slither and slide
and on dry land
we slip inside each other
like a deck of cards
We fit together
like the parts of a landscape
sands streaming from rock
into the crannies of other stones
and in the rain we are roots
penetrating each other
holding on for dear life
NIGHTMARE
inspired by Henry Fuseli
When the dream demon
will not take me
the way I am
I give him
room to leave and leeway
a body stretching
static and dreaming
the full length myself
for what I am
in full glory
He’s being a demon
minuscule and ugly
a bulging malfeasance
pressing on my sternum
my diaphragm
distressing my clavicle
Come day I hope
to soon forget you
de man
shake you off
you petty plutocrat
and go on
my merry ways
HORIZON
We are caught
in a confused web
of fact and feeling
Lands thought safe and secure
have drifted and absconded
Stories of sentiment with
occasional bits of truth
pierce like sunrays
over the morning horizon
In whose middle we
arise from sleep
groping vaguely forward
into a new day
I want to be
your deep down-under embrace
your Calypso promise of
the daring and the safe
Lands thought safe and secure
have drifted and absconded
NARCISSA
Narcissiae placandis manibus
To placate the manes of Narcissa
Paul Valéry
Narcissa
was the young daughter
of the poet of night
Edward Young
Not thinking for once
of cemeteries
so harsh and so soon
her French death
became the bitter surprise
for her father
her non-catholic body
a scandal in a catholic country
Denied the proper grave
Narcissa was buried at night
in the botanical garden
of Montpellier
Secretly with local helpers
« in the most secret place »
her father dug into the earth
The grave has no name
she disappeared among
blooming flowers
there were perhaps
seasonal narcissus
She lies where she belongs
a flower among flowers
nomen est omen: Narcissa
Narcissa was the daughter of poet Edward Young, 1683-1765.
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BIO
Margaret Saine was born in Germany and lives in Southern California. She writes poetry, haiku, and short stories in five languages, also translating other poets. Her books are “Bodyscapes,” “Words of Art,” 5 haiku chapbooks, and in Germany, the memoir « Ungeschicktes Kind » [Awkward Child] and the book of poems « Das Flüchtige bleibt” [The Ephemeral Remains]. Additional poetry mss. are “The Five Senses,” “Reading Your Lips, » « A Love in Winter » and « Wherefore. » (tbp). Her poetry has also been published in Italy, Jordan, India, and the Philippines.