2020: 2 poems by mimi zannino.

 

HIDING PLACES

where does grief hide
during moments
when vision clears
tears evaporate
the veil of sorrow
sweeps into the current

does it burrow with
furry-backed creatures
nuzzle with their warmth

does it soar above the canopy,
its eagle eye trained on
a rodent fit to die in the
clench of its talons

does it lunge from the bottom
of a cold sea, brace itself against
the chill, witness liquid breath
without choking on its sobs

and when it resurfaces
has it changed just enough to
let you know...

 

*

 

When Words are All I Have

This space is for you.
Here — this conduit —
between brain and heart,
undetectable on an x-ray,
is where the us of you and me
resides, since your body has
gone missing.

It is a floating place,
but we will carve out letters
from our separateness and
scatter them like breadcrumbs
along the distance between us

so, one day, we can find
our way back home.

 

 

Poet, Rosemarie Law (MiMi Zannino) has been a teaching artist with the Maryland State Arts Council since 1989. Most recently, she has researched, written and performed her one-woman living history show: Time-Travel with Virginia Hall, America’s Greatest World War II Espionage agent for audiences from Washington DC to Florida. She also portrays the American Poet, Emily Dickinson followed by a Q-and-A with audiences. EmilyDickinsonLive.com GardenPartyMusic.com