the prophet of the war the snake

the prophet of the war

the snake

wakes up & crawling on my neck

& carving planets & stones

makes everything

square

there are children on the street

and squirrels in trees

parts & bones

underground and some hope for

another round:

said the mouth loud & clear

like an open

tomb

travelling with the ghosts

we are full of hope traveling with our ghosts

suitcases & all

leaving home at night returning

with the sun

can't tell

if it happens to be

if the butterflies are back

and the lilac in blossom

I am warming up

this place

for your beautiful death

this is a love poem for you

who came at the window

winter heart

and a train of stars—

evening blues

the body rushes

to the river     lips

in the blue

light of one last

spring

birds

in the air

looking for a place

to nest

*

flesh burns flesh      space

burns space teaching us

time:

longing

for a rhyme?    what is the word

for love?

Stella Vinitchi Radulescu is the author of numerous collections of poetry published in the United States, Romania and France. She writes poetry in English, French and Romanian and is the winner of several International Poetry Prizes awarded for her French books. A new poetry collection "I scrape the window of nothingness - new & selected poems" is forthcoming from Orison Books Press. At the present she lives in Chicago.