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Denise Duhamel & ​Barbra Nightingale

Aligning Our Chakras


Root
 
I have a red dot that looks like a penny.
It may not seem like much but
it’s the beginning—this coin is the seed
of my spirituality. Pound for pound
the scales will balance.  As I roller skate
around your aura, the ground
comes up to meet me: fearlessly I bounce
like a quarter off a perfectly-made bed.
 
Sacral
 
My navel attached me to my mother, led me
to a new world where I was more
than just an apple or orange.  In this hybrid
experience, I could be grafted into a new breed,
a poet/racecar driver/cosmetologist.
I could write with six arms, my engine purring,
my hair-blower mouth puffing
“Ready. Set. Go!” A checkered flag
drops.  Sonnets billow
from my tailpipe, drift to the clouds.
 
Solar Plexus
 
I have a squishy core, like jelly in a donut.
Take a bite. It’s good, right?
The earth keeps its magma under wraps
until it bubbles to the surface with an “oomph!”
How much of our lives can we truly control?
Breathe in. Breathe out. Chant ohms.
 
Heart
 
My heart is locked—yours has the key.
Together our colors bloom on the wall
like these paint samples, little bookmarks
of sapphire and antique white.
Can we remodel our hearts?
Mine feels a lot like Formica. 
Yours, a plush throw pillow.
It’s a new life—let’s go.
 
Throat
 
Sometimes I say “Great” when I mean “Uh oh,”
a sob caught in my throat like a stick
turned sideways.  My dog loves to fetch,
even after I’m tired. I could cough it loose,
but where would it go?  My poor puppy
doesn’t know why I’m screaming.
Now the stick’s gone, I miss it.
I climb the fence into my neighbor’s yard.
 
Third Eye
 
Imagine Cyclops with three eyes
or me, at thirteen, a pimple
in the middle of my forehead.  Who could love
someone who sees so much? Can the one
who sees everything love herself?
An empty mirror is a dangerous thing.
A vain queen gone—poof!  An opaque ghost.
Still, nothing is ever erased.
 
Crown
 
My fontanel is fully closed
like a moon roof.  I might start climbing
the stairs to heaven, Led Zeppelin in my earbuds,
a rosary around my wrist
or stay grounded, a lighthouse beacon
pulsing onto rocks, mermaids and mermen
with tangled hair. The sirens are singing in my head.
Sweet chorus, open my spirit.







--
Denise Duhamel’s most recent book of poetry is Scald (Pittsburgh, 2017). She is a is a Distinguished University Professor at Florida International University in Miami.

Barbra Nightingale's latest book, Alphalexia, was published with Finishing Line Press. She is an associate editor for the South Florida Poetry Journal. Barbra lives in Hollywood, FL.

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  • Home
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  • Issue #27 Spring 2024
    • Issue #27 Art Spring 2024 >
      • Kristina Erny Spring 2024
      • Luiza Maia Spring 2024
      • Christy Lee Rogers Spring 2024
      • Erika Lynet Salvador Spring 2024
      • Marsha Solomon Spring 2024
    • Issue #27 Poetry Spring 2024 >
      • Terry Belew Spring 2024
      • Dustin Brookshire​ & Diamond Forde Spring 2024 Spring 2024
      • Dustin Brookshire​ & Caridad Moro-Gronlier Spring 2024 Spring 2024
      • Charlie Coleman Spring 2024
      • Isabelle Doyle Spring 2024
      • Reyzl Grace Spring 2024
      • Kelly Gray Spring 2024
      • Meredith Herndon Spring 2024
      • Mina Khan Spring 2024
      • Anoushka Kumar Spring 2024
      • Cate Latimer Spring 2024
      • BEE LB Spring 2024
      • Grace Marie Liu​ Spring 2024
      • Sarah Mills Spring 2024
      • Faisal Mohyuddin 2024
      • Marcus Myers Spring 2024
      • Mike Puican Spring 2024
      • Sarah Sorensen Spring 2024
      • Lynne Thompson Spring 2024
      • Natalie Tombasco Spring 2024
      • Alexandra van de Kamp Spring 2024
      • Donna Vorreyer Spring 2024
    • Fiction #27 Spring 2024 >
      • Bryan Betancur Spring 2024
      • Karen George Spring 2024
      • Raja'a Khalid Spring 2024
      • Riley Manning Spring 2024
      • Adina Polatsek Spring 2024
      • Beth Sherman Spring 2024
    • Nonfiction #27 Spring 2024 >
      • Liza Olson Spring 2024
  • Issue #28 Fall 2024
    • Issue #28 Art Fall 2024 >
      • Eric Calloway Fall 2024
      • Matthew Fertel Fall 2024
      • JooLee Kang Fall 2024
      • Jian Kim Fall 2024
      • Robb Kunz Fall 2024
      • Sean Layh Fall 2024
    • Issue #28 Poetry Fall 2024 >
      • Jodi Balas Fall 2024
      • Clayre Benzadón Fall 2024
      • Catherine Broadwall Fall 2024
      • Sara Burge Fall 2024
      • Judith Chalmer Fall 2024
      • Stephanie Choi Fall 2024
      • Sarah Jack Fall 2024
      • Jen Karetnick Fall 2024
      • Ae Hee Lee Fall 2024
      • Svetlana Litvinchuk Fall 2024
      • Mary Lou Buschi Fall 2024
      • Angie Macri Fall 2024
      • Gary McDowell Fall 2024
      • Sam Moe Fall 2024
      • Camille Newsom Fall 2024
      • Elizabeth O'Connell- Thompson Fall 2024
      • Olatunde Osinaike Fall 2024
      • Jessica Pierce Fall 2024
      • Diane Raptosh Fall 2024
      • Isaac Richards Fall 2024
      • Robyn Schelenz Fall 2024
      • Christopher Shipman Fall 2024
      • Alex Tretbar Fall 2024
      • Ruth Williams Fall 2024
      • Shannon K. Winston Fall 2024
      • Wendy Wisner Fall 2024
      • Anne Gerard Fall 2024
    • Issue #28 Fiction Fall 2024 >
      • J​oe Baumann Fall 2024
      • ​Morganne Howell Fall 2024
      • Matt Paczkowski Fall 2024
      • Ryan Peed Fall 2024
      • Gabriella Pitts Fall 2024
      • James Sullivan Fall 2024
  • Issue #29 Spring 2025
    • Issue #29 Art Spring 2025 >
      • Irina Greciuhina Spring 2025
      • Jesse Howard Spring 2025
      • Paul Simmons Spring 2025
      • Marsha Solomon Spring 2025
      • Elzbieta Zdunek Spring 2025
      • Na Yoon Amelia Cha-Ryu Spring 2025
    • Issue #29 Poetry Spring 2025 >
      • Deborah Bacharach Spring 2025
      • Diego Báez Spring 2025
      • Jaswinder Bolina Spring 2025
      • ​Ash Bowen Spring 2025
      • Christian J. Collier Spring 2025
      • ​Shou Jie Eng Spring 2025
      • Sara Fitzpatrick Spring 2025
      • Matthew Gilbert Spring 2025
      • Tammy C. Greenwood Spring 2025
      • Alejandra Hernández ​Spring 2025
      • Ben Kline ​Spring 2025
      • ​David Moolten Spring 2025
      • ​Tamer Mostafa Spring 2025
      • ​Rongfei Mu Spring 2025
      • Cynthia Neely Spring 2025
      • Pablo Otavalo Spring 2025
      • ​Bleah Patterson Spring 2025
      • ​M.A. Scott Spring 2025
      • ​Liam Strong ​ Spring 2025
      • Alexandra van de Kamp Spring 2025
      • ​Cassandra Whitaker Spring 2025
      • Angelique Zobitz Spring 2025
    • Issue #29 Fiction Spring 2025 >
      • Vanessa Blakeslee Spring 2025
      • K. J. Coyle Spring 2025
      • Meredith MacLeod Davidson Spring 2025
      • Jessica Mosher Spring 2025
    • Issue #29 Nonfiction Spring 2025 >
      • JM Huscher Spring 2025
      • Qurrat ul Ain Raza Abbas Spring 2025