Two Poems by Sara Pompeo
Adoption
There was a day
we went out looking for angels
it was a Sunday in late August
and she took me to a rose garden
we fingered daisy eyes and
turned over tuscan suns but found
nothing no
stray cherubic feathers
or sacred apparitions in sight
just
bees going mad in their chains
and
strange shapes of clouds rolling
nowhere
she told me if I
speak to flowers with love I can watch
petals grow then she called me
Daffodil and I smiled at the camera
Miss
Mommy
put your shoes back on
and get off the grass
the angels are back in their chambers
and the moths don’t want to dance
I have just swallowed your silver spoon
and set the trees on
fire
Prayer
Head, throat, no, chest, shoulders
Yellow pine pews splinter, the Trinity scatter at
Death, a dirty word
Silence, wait,
close your lips for Him,
Thee, thy Father, your father, not my father
Silence, wait
Rosaries ricochet off
flickering cherubs, a pitted cathedral
Hush, hold your breath lean into His
Love, grace, light, mercy
Me my folded hands
Split, snap, shatter
Palms revulse like ex-lovers
Have you ever held the hooves of Sin?
Or slung from Heaven by the skin of your wrists?
Silence, wait
Virgins choking,
Children slurping––
God’s tongues are tied
Sara Pompeo is a 26-year-old human from Massachusetts. She spent the majority of her life as a nomad writing poetry and drinking wine. She is now a productive member of society working part-time at a vegan restaurant while she completes her BA in English at Salem State University. She is an editor for Red Skies magazine and SSU’s literary journal Soundings East. This is Sara’s first publication.