Daughter of the Nile

Magpie #230

They all stare and muse in awe

At the ancient golden face

And wonder what those eyes saw

Charmed by her secret smile

They see only the flawless grace

Of this Daughter of the Nile

Apricot Pie

for dVerse

The open oven reveals

Blackness surrounding a new world

Protected by a golden flakey crust

Apricot lava boiling to the surface

Cooling into bubbled glass

Pooling at the feet of burnt mountains

The edges held back by a sea of glass

Lest any traveler tumble

And fall from a flat world

Palengke Poem

Magpie Tale 229

Down at the palengke
- the wet market -
fruits sit side by side
sometimes oranges, bananas
and rambutan with soft red prickles
but my favorite
mangos
long and smooth
sometimes sticky
heavy in my hands
smelling of gentle yellow
sometimes sour
but mostly
sweet