Simona Carini
Survival Time
by Simona Carini
ISBN: 9798985524246 —
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Simona Carini was born in Perugia, Italy. She writes poetry and nonfiction and has been published in various venues, in print and online. Her first poetry collection Survival Time was published by Sheila-Na-Gig Editions (2022). She lives in Northern California with her husband, loves to spend time outdoors, and works as an academic researcher. Her website is https://simonacarini.com
Evening Walk, Arcata Marsh
We follow the trail between the ponds,
breathe in blue breeze carrying the smells
of salt and still water. A great egret, erect,
arises from marsh grass, bill glinting
in the half-light. A flash: she flaps her wings
as if clapping hands, and is airborne,
neck folded up, legs stretched behind,
like a black trail. Drawn by the bird’s ascent
I lean upward, wish to win against gravity.
Every three months, a blood test reveals
whether cancer’s still asleep,
whether we’ll have further days together.
A date on the calendar: as it approaches,
a familiar sorrow sucks air from my lungs.
Will pain fly past us once again,
while it sweeps up so many others?
Darkness will come, our staring
into a starless night, but for now
on this shore sandwiched between bay
and shell-pink sky, eyes on the egret’s arc,
I know you stand where my gaze will land.
Escaping to the Edge
Tennessee Valley, California
Some days are for entering fog.
You lace up, choose rocky terrain over a church’s carpet,
wind’s subtle song over the world’s cacophony,
fog’s gossamer scarf over a sackcloth of fear.
Moist air in your lungs, reaching deeply when you climb
a steeper section cut into steps, cleansing.
Now Mt. Tam is there, now it’s gone,
the narrow band of sand below the bluff erased,
only the echo of water splashing ashore.
A wish for wings soars with a red-tailed hawk.
Where two trails intersect and the sign’s unclear,
you stop, unfold the map, lost just enough
to taste the thrill of a borderless place.
Farther on, behind a curve, a stubby tail flashes white:
a bobcat arcs across in two bounds, lightning.
Two beats of your heart thunder in your ears.
Your gaze pursues the graceful animal
past the scrim of coyote bushes and sagebrush,
inviting. The sky bright when the fog
breaks open. Lighter, you leap back in.
