Being Late (Poem of the Month)
They said you were usually late
to school. So, one day last week
I followed you, finding out why:
You stood back & sighed
as you watched a young duck family
crossing the road—stepping in to save their lives
by watching out for cars. Then,
when you appeared before the
fountain in the mini-park,
you noticed the orange & yellow
oak & elm leaves falling, as they
danced with autumnal breezes
before they hit the ground; the silver
sprays of water recycling over & over
again, catching shapes like spitting fish
or swirls off of elegant tiered wedding cakes.
You tossed a penny into the fountain
& made a wish, looking like you were feeling
completely present in that moment.
Then, the church bell rang, & you
ran off, cursing under your breath.
.
Growing Green
Why are you so quiet?
There are many kinds of love
waiting to be yours
if you need it
Head’s not nearly empty
like the last time
you tried to think
of something bigger
than yourself—
The satin seat of desire
rises up as I smell green
outside the car window.
Summertime is in full bloom
(or was it fertilizer?)
or actual grass growing
in the park?
My heart is still racing
from several sensations.
Something good
is growing fast—
BIO
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, Spillwords.com, Poetry Super Highway, Shot Glass Journal (Muse-Pie Press), Vita Brevis, Home Planet News, Cajun Mutt Press, Walt’s Corner, Polarity eMagazine, The Poetic Bond (VIII-X), Alien Buddha Press, Jerry Jazz Musician, Rye Whiskey Review, Litterateur RWand First Literary Review-East. Her first poetry collection, Hurricanes never apologize (Luchador Press) was published in December 2019. Her new poetry collection In the blue hour (Nirala Publications), was published in February 2021. She won Honorable Mention Award twice, for “all trains are haunted” (Non-rhyming poetry: 2019) and “May (a Pantoum)” (Rhyming poetry: 2021) in Writer’s Digest Writer’s Competition. Born in Norman, Oklahoma, she now lives with her husband in Manhattan, New York. https://carriemagnessradna.com
