Enamorada :: from Conversations with the Virgin by Cheryl Hicks

Lady of Long Silence and Restraint,
these flailing words are predetermined
to become more active than sound,
for I have found myself again
longing for a sacred heart.

Hot and cold all at once,
my fogged eyes
have been ignored again
by the spirits of the dead,
and my prayers sound
as though I am spitting
bitter fairy tales
in a foreign language.

Abandoned by my mother tongue,
unspoken laws cause me to alter
my discreet black street clothes
for attire perhaps more expressive
as I seek a temporary reprieve.

But real-life stories
confuse the heart,
and I want to give up this place today,
to ride off into crimson brilliance
looking for the ideal metaphor,
like someone to come home to
every night.

About the Author

Cheryl Hicks has published prose works in The First Line and Southern Hum, and her poetryhas been featured in Urban Spaghetti, Blue Fifth Review, Heliotrope, Makar, Snakeskin, Organic Soup and 103: The Journal of the Image Warehouse. She was a featured poet at C/Oasis, and is the recipient of the Paddock Poetry Award. “Enamorada” is from a series titled “Conversations with the Virgin,” in which Hicks explores the mystical feminine as well as her personal desire for ritual.

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