map Indigo and Half Moon

by Paul Rabinowitz

Published in Issue No. 295 ~ December, 2021

11:46 a.m.

A woman wearing a down jacket with silver duct tape clutches the hand of a young child. She throws a half empty coffee cup into the bin under the counter, walks past a full length mirror and glances at her reflection. Twisting her torso to fit into the frame she piles her hair atop her head and notices a gentleman in the back of the cafe gazing at her. She turns towards the exit then cranes her neck to check storm clouds gathering over a playground at the intersection of Pitt and Grand Street. She hoists the child and steps out. Moments later they return. She hushes the crying child that clutches her soaked jacket. The gentleman in the corner of the crowded cafe signals to them to take a seat at the table where he sits. She glances at me sketching the scene then releases her wet hair. I watch as it falls around her shoulders. She sets the child down as the gentleman rises, waving to get her attention. The woman saunters across the floor like a prima donna on stage. He reaches into his worn travel bag and gives the mother a bright blue bird. She rubs her hand over the soft fabric. The child grabs the stuffed animal and runs to the mirror. Glancing at her reflection, she sways back and forth with two hands clutching the wings. She catches my gaze and freezes. The mother turns away from her daughter’s reflection, pushes a candle jar to the edge and leans across the table close to the gentleman. She remains focused on the movement of his lips. The child stomps her feet, puts the bird under her jacket then disappears among the crowds gathering on Grand Street

 

2:53 p.m.

If I use

a phrase

like

bird enthusiast

with

blue eyes

gentle

voice

 

in the

first stanza

of my poem

 

will I need

anything

else

for the middle

or end

 

to explain

why you

grab

 

star chart

and dream catcher

earrings

 

and meet

a bird watcher

 

to view

a male

bunting

perched

atop

a cactus

singing

to stake

its claim

 

plumage

brilliant

and shiny

illuminated

under

indigo

sky

 

waiting

patiently

for nightfall

star patterns

to appear

 

for clues

 

to navigate

a vast

intoxicating

desert

 

while

half moon

in the distance

rises

 

4:43 p.m.

In a state

of hypnotic

hyper-focused

confusion

a moth

hovers

near a chosen

candle

 

thinking

the flame

is the moon

glowing

 

the nocturnal

creature

rises

then falls

unable to

break

its evolutionary

navigational

system

 

as when you

limp

past the mirror

check

storm clouds

eyes glazed

like a boxer

hit on the jaw

 

neck snaps

light dims

while falling

to the ground

wishing

someone

laid a pillow

on the canvas

 

and in a state

of hypnotic

hyper-focused

confusion

you twist

your head

glance at me

sketching

the scene

 

throwing fresh

words

on my paper

like a painter

under night sky

full moon

igniting

desert

landscapes

 

as you rise

 

order coffee

extra cream

and sugar

find a cushioned

chair

to rest upon

until storm clouds

break

 

as I slide

my poem

across the table

revealing

colorful phrases like

 

new places

we’ll travel to

 

sand soaked

in orange light

 

eternal summers

with no past

 

break the chain

around your neck

 

like Jackson Pollock

day after day

I’ll splash

new words

against adobe

walls

indigo dripping

over

raw sienna

 

so when your offspring

returns

finds us

burning

from both ends

we’ll watch

as she throws

the animal

into the air

 

and wait

to see

which direction

the dry wind

blows

 

where

the bird

lands

 

 

 

 

account_box More About

Paul Rabinowitz is an author, photographer and founder of ARTS By The People, a non-profit arts organization based in New Jersey. Through all mediums of art Paul aims to capture real people, flaws and all. He focuses on details that reveal the true essence of a subject, whether they be an artist he’s photographing or a fictional character he’s bringing to life on the page. Paul’s photography, short fiction and poetry have appeared in many magazines and journals including New World Writing, Pif Magazine, Courtship of Winds, Burningword, Evening Street Press, The Montreal Review, The Metaworker, Adirondack Review, Bangalore Review, Grey Sparrow Journal, The Oddville Press and others. Paul was a featured artist in Nailed Magazine in 2020, nominated for Best of the Net in 2021 for his Limited Light photo series, and also nominated for the Maria Mazziotti Gillan Literary Service Award. Paul is the author of Limited Light, a book of prose and portrait photography, and a novella, The Clay Urn. Paul is working on his novel Confluence, and has completed a poetry collection called truth, love and the lines in between. His short stories, Little Gem Magnolia, Villa Dei Misteri, Indigo and Half Moon and Poems in Morning Light With Cat are the inspiration for 4 short films. Villa Dei Misteri won best Experimental Film at the RevolutionMe Film Festival in 2021. Paul has produced mixed media performances and poetry films that have appeared on stages and in theaters in New York City, New Jersey, Tel Aviv and Paris. Paul is a written word performer and the founder of The Platform, a monthly literary series in New Jersey, and Platform Review, a journal of voices and visual art from around the world. Paul’s solo show called Retrospective With Reading Glasses is at CCM Gallery in New Jersey through November, 2021 and is co-writing a television series with author Erin Jones called Bungalow.