By Linda Scheller
—for Ruth Asawa
*
shadows cast
sister structures
formed by light
through loops
*
crocheted
undulations
trace airy
pendulous
nests
*
suspended
waves
reeve through
transformational
stillness
*
steel and air
interlace
an arabesque
embrace
Reliquary
I laid her hands
(pale skin and delicate bones)
side by side, palms up,
in a glass box
and on them
nested her quiet heart
I vowed to sleep
always with this box
perched on my ribs,
but could not stay
still
nor could her remnants
(ephemeral flesh)
last long undiminished
I covered the box
with a golden lid
wrapped tight with bands
and placed her memory
on the inverse of fire
Linda Scheller is the author of two books of poetry, Fierce Light (FutureCycle Press) and Wind & Children (Main Street Rag Publishing Company). Her poetry and book reviews are widely published in anthologies and journals including Sugar House Review, Slipstream, Hawai’i Pacific Review, Poem, and Colorado Review. Her manuscript Laurels was a finalist for the 2023 Aryamati Poetry Prize and shortlisted for the Concrete Wolf Louis Award. Ms. Scheller is the vice president of Modesto-Stanislaus Poetry Center and a programmer for KCBP Community Radio. Her website is lindascheller.com.