The Beginning
Earth has held Her breath so many dark months. Her chest aches with this inhalation. Her ribs’ framework tents the snow. Shrinks like a wicked witch. You can hear melt, long sigh’s gurgle — escaping winter. Dawn’s Sun laps at the eastern house wall. Flat, pink, canine tongue. Cat-thorough. No crack unexposed, uninvestigated. You can hear window’s bones creak. They shift, murmur, absorb Heat, rescued from starvation. Yellow, frosted globe of table lamp with brass finial looks up at the frosted globe of lamp hanging like a breast between blades of ceiling fan. My eyes follow one to the other. I understand. Two breasts. One up. One down. A Dali-woman, maybe Earth was shaped by Picasso’s loving fingers. Her spirit drapes like lace over this Spring day’s roomlight.
Rachael Z. Ikins was born and raised in NY’s Fingerlakes region. She published her first poem at age 14 under the guidance of a talented English teacher. As an adult she has published in numerous journals over the years and has won 8 poetry prizes among them first place National League of American Penwomen 2006 and 2008, and HM 2010. Her first chapbook Slide-show in the Woods (Foothills) was published August 2008 and her second chapbook Transplanted will be published in 2010 Finishing Line Press. Several photo-illustrated children’s stories, fantasy genre, were published in the 1990s. She attended the Colgate Writers conference 2007 and 2008 on fellowship and will attend 2010 for young adult fiction. She belongs to Canastota Writers, Every Other Thursday Night Poets Vorheesville, MAD art artist co-op in Hamilton NY, moderate Monday Night Poetry at Sushi Blues in Hamilton NY, is a member of the owntown Writers Center Syracuse, NY, Hudson Valley Writers Guild in the capitol region, and several critique groups. Visit her official site at: Rachael Ikins and read her blog Here.
