she was the color of a thunder cloud covering the sun
red and blue and white and gray
it was the blue that alarmed me
and how her little body didn’t move
flaccid as a rag stuffed doll
as if I expected her to dance or speak to me
the braided cord soaked in blood and mucus
trailing down my leg then up and between her mother’s legs
where she had just come from
living in darkness and water
for months and eternity
I held her firmly
wrapping her in a silver thermo blanket
as if she had just walked in space
or been discovered beneath an avalanche
and she had as much
shooting out of her mother like that
without as much as a push or a shove
into this cold metallic world
The back of the ambulance was a space ship
the crackling voices
the wide black window speckled with silver stars
the circling red and white lights
making her even more blue than before
she’s not breathing I said
more to myself than anyone else
she’s blue and she’s not breathing
I placed my giant thumb in her little fist
and touched a massive finger to her miniature lips
she shook all over all at once
like a dog shedding the rain from it’s fur
opening that tiny mouth
screaming and breathing for the first time
that single burning gulp of air
filling the space that was now hers
making it all very clear to us that she was here
Peter Ciccariello - artist, visual poet, flaneur & accidental fabulator · http://invisiblenotes.blogspot.com/ is a USA creative whirlwind who has fascinated me with his artwork for a couple of decades. I have known his poetry less - but as you can see by the above, he's not a 'part time' poet but a full time rennaisance man.
Here are a couple more links for more information and examples of his wonderful artwork.
Poetry and writing - http://poemsfromprovidence.
You can find Peter's art and writing updates on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/
Portrait by Didi Menendez, artist to the poets of USA
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