If a shadow appears in darkness the darkness must be light
—Shannan Mann
If a shadow appears in darkness the darkness must be light
I am alarmed by my own name,
a shark fin slivering the ocean
of these nights between us.
Your voice is all song in love,
prayer in pain. Again, a filthy
feather has blown by our window.
The book of omens gives this
no name. I bend beneath water,
bend beneath your pain, dream
about bridges, airplanes, Bombay
rain foaming all the creatures
of the ocean to its surface.
Slow-dissolving — this poison
in my veins. When I questioned
you, you told me your name.
There is no destiny in the stars,
keep your afterlife in the back
pocket. I have no deck of cards,
no matchsticks, no mantras —
what flame will I bathe
the evil eye in? Once more,
once again, let me show you how
to spell my name. Everything begins
in silence — to let it end the same?
About
SHANNAN MANN is the Founding Editor of ONLY POEMS. She has been awarded or placed for the Palette Love and Eros Prize, Rattle Poetry Prize, and Auburn Witness Poetry Prize among others. Her poems appear or in Poetry Daily, EPOCH, Black Warrior Review, Gulf Coast and elsewhere. Her essays appear in Going Down Swinging, Tolka Journal, and elsewhere. She also translates Sanskrit poetry. Currently pursuing her MFA at Virginia Tech, she’s also a Project Lead over at Chill Subs.