MAXIMA KAHN

 The Capitulation of the Ordinary

Perhaps I should sing of the bent spoon, the chipped cup, the days that pass
like a file of ants, but I hunger for the greatness, listing over everything, 
the glimmering above.
To be uplifted, even in agony, 
like the statue of Teresa of Avila, her face enraptured 
by clear sight and pure song—as pure as it can get
even if muddied by dishwater I washed my hands in.
To unfurl like a meadow of wildflowers 
in the shadow of ice-blue mountains. 
Give me those jagged, magnificent peaks,
gathering clouds in sheer summits. 
I long to be carried and carried away
into that velvet blackness studded with stars. To taste
the moon’s opal light on my tongue, feel oceans unmooring me 
                                    into ineluctable currents, littered with glowing fish. 
Not the plain frock, but ruffles, ornamentation, lace, 
the overabundance of silks and susurration. 
The grain of the wood polished to high hue, 
not the rusted nail bent over, 
driven carelessly into old wood. 
I am scratching the dirt not for seeds 
            but whole cities underneath, 
blazing in ardent degrees.
                         To whittle 
                                    this raw rough foundation 
until the hidden form emerges,
                                    caught in errant flight. 

Maxima Kahn's first full-length book of poems, Fierce Aria, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2020. Her poetry and essays have appeared in The Louisville Review, Euphony Journal, Entropy, Citron Review, Sweet, Wisconsin Review and Spillway, among many others. A recipient of fellowships and scholarships to the Vermont Studio Center and the Community of Writers, she has twice been nominated for Best of the Net. Having taught creative writing at the University of California Davis extension, she now teaches and blogs at Brilliant Playground. You can find out more at MaximaKahn.com.