First crack the egg
and let it flow
over her auburn hair.
Then imagine dead people
and forest fairy-walks
as her favorite color drips
like lemon juice
over closed, trusting eyes.
The tingles up and down your spine
are part of the magic
floating between us,
brewed from crystallized hope, tangible
in faith and blood and dirt
and sweet summertime sweat
on sticky baby palms.
Next we’ll laugh and run,
and ask the spirits
in soda cans the name
of the boy she’ll marry.
The yolk will make her body stiff
her heart beating in time with ours
as she floats above the nighttime candle
away among the burning stars.

Veronica McDonald

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Veronica McDonald is a writer, poet, and mother of two toddlers. “Ritual” is her first published poem. Her short stories appear in or are forthcoming from Apocrypha and Abstractions, Scrutiny, and Beorh Weekly. Look for her online at VeronicaMcDonaldAuthor.com.

Artwork: Natalia Drepina
Website: http://nataliadrepina.deviantart.com/

30 Apr This entry was published on April 30, 2016 at 12:07 am and is filed under 18 (April 2016), Archive, Poetry. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.