The January Selected Poet is Linda M. Crate

Please feel free to email Linda at veritaserumvial@hotmail.com

A SECOND DANCE

sitting under the slender shadow
of the moon
a creature
without beating heart
dances in the
street,
and her white arms scare
some;
i can’t help but watch
she’s the only one that doesn’t seem
to know she’s dead
maybe she does and just doesn’t care—
a scream pierces the night
she just continues
to spin against the pale sliver of light
i want to dance with her,
but i know it’s certain death if i do because
from the shadows death comes and
dances with her
i didn't know
he danced more than once.

THE CHASE

her heart beats in her chest
where has he gone?
one second he was there, the next
he was gone;
does that mean he's stopped following
or is he somewhere her eyes
cannot follow?
she runs with eyes backward
orpheus losing sight
of eurydice,
and in this case her lover is all things safe
our eyes face forward for a reason;
but she has forgotten herself
to her fear—
once she assures herself that she is free
of the cull that bears his name
the vampire appears again as if by magic
her eyes go wide
there is no time to scream
her blood litters leaves.

I WANT TO LIVE

the arrows fly
fire dances,
but still he endures;
the others
have run,
but he has a mission;
gaunt face, pointed fangs
his mission cannot
mean anything
good—
soon the ground is scarlet
the arrows fade
more of his kind come
the whole city
is suddenly silent as if holding its
breath after all the screaming
was exhaled after the
first battle,
but they won’t stop not until they
find what they’re looking for
the still beating heart
in my chest;
but I’m not willing to die
not yet
so I’ll run just a bit more because more
than anything i just want to
live.

Linda M. Crate is a Pennsylvanian native born in Pittsburgh yet raised in the rural town of Conneautville. She currently resides in Meadville. Her poetry, short stories, articles, and reviews have been published in a myriad of magazines both online and in print. Recently her two chapbooks A Mermaid Crashing into Dawn (Fowlpox Press - June 2013) and Less Than A Man (The Camel Saloon - January 2014) were published. Her fantasy novel Blood & Magic was published in March 2015.