Her power is to open what is shut;
shut what is open.
—Diane Di Prima
When the rhythms of snapping beans set in,
wildflowers laced her lilting sighs. The law
of dynamics set her on her way—vainglorious,
Southern-fried double agent, high-octane angel
with allegiance to the thrill of cartwheel and
pretty enough to get by. On dry cleaner receipts
and gum wrappers, she knew the legacy of
showing her work, the sine and cosine of wigged
latitudes and waists cinched to the nines.
Her pronouns—battery radio, Grand Ole Opry,
and Crossover, too. She is latticed universe, legistator
of the luxury of future, translator for So Much Jangle
and Fringe. She is premise of umbrella sky, beehive
tattoo, and what blooms from constructs of hardscrabble.
Rikki Santer poems have appeared in publications including Ms. Magazine, Poetry East, Heavy Feather Review, Slab, Slipstream, [PANK], Crab Orchard Review. My work has re-ceived many honors including six Pushcart and three Ohioana and Ohio Poet book award nominations as well as a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
