Written by Carmen Rueda Lindemann
Like an archangel she soars, her feathered cloak draped
Like satin silk
Pouring from her narrow frame
And paints the sky black, red and orange in universal refrain.
I reach out my weathered palm
And oh, how I yearn for her to bear me away with her, where our spirits might forever entwine.
For now I am barren, desolate, like weathered winter terrain.
I supplicate, longing for her grace. For where am I to find the strength?
Point your crooked finger
Towards an evident emulsion
else cloak me in your feathered embrace.
As the heavens thunder and roll
a tempest broods and weaves;
No dew drops settle
on misty mornings
on budding spring’s leaves.
No flower is fit to grow,
in the desert of my mind,
No bird is fit to fly;
No fish may wade
without fear to drown;
No man comes out alive.
Illustration by Evie H
Description of the themes in the poem
The speaker expresses an intense yearning for an ethereal, almost divine being (perhaps an archangel or a spirit) to lift them out of their barren, desolate state. The feathered cloak and celestial imagery suggest a connection to a higher realm or force, one that the speaker feels drawn to but is unable to reach.
The speaker is struggling with an inner desolation, a feeling of being empty and worn like the barren winter landscape. The desperate tone conveys a desire for transcendence, a wish to escape the mundane and embrace something greater, something that offers meaning and release from suffering. This sense of longing is heightened by the stark contrast between the life and vibrancy represented by the celestial being and the barren world that the speaker inhabits.
The imagery of the storm, the lack of dew, the barren spring, and the desert of the mind further emphasize the bleakness of the speaker’s state, showing that everything in their world is devoid of life or hope. The speaker is caught in a struggle against their own limitations, yet they still reach out, supplicating for a sense of connection, purpose, or divine intervention.