2 June 2002 | Vol. 2, No. 2
The Art of Practice
The bamboo reed divides
the evening into nine girls
practicing the dance of Changgu.
I close my eyes & can see
their swan-like movements
pierce the air. There's more
than a world inside them. More
than a pulse trapped within.
In the hallway—they glow rhythm
in each foot. Their spines retrace
a broken path that once led
to the underground. Where the
branches of trees hang like spears.
Where the mountains move
before your eyes. Yes. Yes.
The slow ache of their hearts.
The bartering of their bones.
Ready to redeem the flesh
& singe the tips of your hair.
A reminder of what hurts,
like the scarlet rays
spattering heat on the tongue,
like abandoned children
on the edge of mountains rising.
& with arms fanned beyond
pivots of gutted stone, they
slow-drag past the cradled earth
& into a beat closer to home.
About the author:
Radames Ortiz is the author of a chapbook of poems, Between Angels & Monsters. Founding editor of Coyote Magazine: Bringing Literature and Art Across Borders and former editor of the Bayou Review, the literary journal for the University of Houston Downtown. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including Exquisite Corpse, Pacific Review, Gulf Coast, the Mesquite Review and San Antonio Current. Winner of the 2000 Fabian Worsham Award for Poetry and fellowships from the Bucknell Seminar for Younger Poets at Bucknell University and Voices Writing Workshop at the University of San Francisco. He is also a recipient of a 2002 Individual Artist Grant from the Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County.
For further reading:
See the complete list of work by Radames Ortiz at 42opus. Browse the contents of 42opus Vol. 2, No. 2, where "The Art of Practice" ran on June 2, 2002. List other work with these same labels: poetry.
